Son of Natsu
by Rose131313
Summary: Marcus Dragneel, son of Natsu and Lucy, has never been very good with magic. When he meets a strange man, though, Marcus has an opportunity to change that. Will he become one of the worlds most powerful wizards and win the hearts of his friends and family, or crash and burn like so many others expect him to? Meet Marcus Dragneel, Phoenix Slayer.
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

"Fire Dragons Ro-" *couch* *cough* The young boy fell to the dusty ground, clutching his throat while coughing up smoke. The sweat in his curly blonde hair mixed with the dust, forming a thin layer of mud on his head. His deep blue eyes threatened to spill tears as he sluggishly pulled himself up. His grey hoodie that he never seemed to take off was caked in mud as well. "Why cant I get this? I've been trying for months!"

"Keep trying Marcus! When Igneel taught me this spell, I nearly burned a hole in my throat," the boy's father replied. The pink haired father was none other than Natsu Dragneel, Fire dragon slayer and savior of Fiore. The young man repositioned his son and encouraged him to make another attempt.

Marcus instead reflected on his life for a moment. His parents were two of the most famous wizards in Fiore. When Natsu Dragneel had married Lucy Heartfilia, it had surprised no one. They had gone on to have 3 kids. Marcus, the oldest, was 12 years old. Annabell, the middle child and only girl, was 10. She had a twin brother, Jacob. The twins had taken after their parents. Annabell had long, pick hair and onyx eyes, like her father. Jacob had blonde hair and brown eyes, like his mother. They practiced Fire Dragon slayer magic and Celestial magic, respectively. Marcus had blonde hair like his mother, but beyond that, the family resemblance ended. Nobody knew where his blue eyes came from, often the source of teasing from other children.

Magic came easy to Marcus, to a certain extent. Many called him a prodigy. He gave off a strong aura, signaling tremendous potential. Marcus, however, thought of himself as a failure. He could not find a magic that suited him. Whenever he tried fire magic, like his father, his flames were golden, but he had trouble controlling them. He couldn't summon a celestial spirit if his life depended on it. Even trying to unlock Plues gate, which he should have been able to do because his mom had a contract (Something to do about inheritance. Celestial politics were complicated.) left him drained of energy.

At Mira's suggestion, Marcus tried different magic styles. Although it was rare for a child to drift away from one of the base magic styles of their parents, the phenomenon wasn't unheard of. So Marcus began searching. Takeover was definitely not his strong suit. He had been stuck with a tail for 2 weeks. Requip magic was just as bad. Marcus had been chased around Magnolia by his summoned butter knife before Erza had intervened. He still refused to eat toast in fear of confronting another butter knife. He even failed at making a simple icicle, much to his fathers delight.

His parents were fine with Marcus trying different types of magic. All they wanted was for the young boy to be happy. Natsu, however, insisted that Marcus was a fire mage since the night before the boy had been found asleep, enveloped in golden flames. Thank goodness Lucy had woken up and summoned Aquarius to douse the spreading flames. (The spirit and the mage had begun to get along fairly well after Lucy had gotten married.)

This experience is what brought Natsu and his son to the training ground for some practice.

"Dad, maybe I'm just not meant to be a dragon slayer like you. I haven't even met a dragon. I'm just a disappointment."

"Marcus, you're not a disappointment. I'd be proud of you even if you were an ice mage like Frosty the naked snowman and his daughter, Holly the Ice Princess" Natsu said, referring to his friend/rival Grey Fullbuster and his daughter, Holly Fullbuster. Marcus blushed slightly at the mention of the girl. Holly was only a few months younger than Marcus. She had blue hair, like her mother, and the same piercing dark eyes as her father.

The girl was particularly cruel to Marcus. She mocked him more than any of the other children in Magnolia did. While Marcus had no trouble standing up for himself without magic, he couldn't bring himself to fight, or even hate Holly. For some reason, Marcus was drawn to her. He couldn't put into words how he felt about her, whether he wanted to be her friend, or brother, or even if he "liiiiiiiiked her," as his uncle Happy put so elegantly whenever the cat caught Marcus looking at the girl.

"Dad, let's take a break for today. Can we just go back to the Guild?" Marcus normally would have rather gone off to the woods to wander around, but the thought of seeing Holly at the guild hall changed spurred him on.

"Sure. I'm hungry any ways." A sudden rumble in his stomach reminded the boy how long it had been since he had eaten. While he may not have had a dragon slayers skill at magic, Marcus certainly had the stomach of one. While the father and son marched off towards the famous Fairy Tail Guild hall, Marcus only had three things on his mind, the same three things that always seemed to be on his mind.

1. Food

2. Magic

3. Holly


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

As Marcus walked into the guild hall, he was greeted by the feeling of excitement that never failed to twist his stomach, no matter how many times he walked into the guild. The first thing his senses picked up was the smell. The smell of food, wood, and drinks all mixed together to form a scent that as familiar to and comforting to Marcus as his own bed. Next was the sounds. As always, there was music, shouting, and fighting. Cups could be heard clinking. Various insults were shouted across the room. The sound of paper tearing as a new request was taken off the job bored gave the guild an atmosphere of excitement and family that couldn't be found anywhere else in the kingdom.

There was only one sound that Marcus wanted to hear however, and it greeted him like it did most days.

"Yo blue eyes, hows it going? Did you grow another tail or did you eat too many tacos on the way here?" A young girls voice carried the insult across the guild hall, although it sounded like the most beautiful song to the boy who it had been aimed at. Marcus looked behind him and saw that Holly was right, he did have a tail of sorts. A tail of smoke. His shorts were trailing smoke behind him. Oh crap. I guess when I tried to use the dragons roar, it came out the other end! How did I not notice until now? Marcus thought to himself. He quickly patted out the flames and sheepishly took a seat at the nearest table. The laughter of the other guild members caused Marcus to bury his face in his arms out of embarrassment. He could even hear his dad barely holding back laughter.

As Natsu wondered off to get into a fight with someone, Marcus looked up as two girls sat down on either side of him.

"Are you going to keep letting her make fun of you like that? I could talk to her about it." The girl on his right asked in her soft, angel like voice.

"Ill shatter her like an icicle!" the other girl on his left shouted as she slammed the table with her fist.

Marcus laughed at the completely opposite personalities of the twins sitting with him. Abigail and Mary were the daughters of Gajeel and Levy Redfox. Although they looked identical with their black hair and hazel, they could not act any different. Abigail was sweet and a good student, like her mother. Mary, on the other hand, was tough and brutal like her father. Despite their polar personalities, the two girls went everywhere together, and were two of Marcus' best friends.

"No, and no. Both of you stop. I can handle this on my own," Marcus replied.

"That's what you have been saying for the last 2 years" Abigail complained.

"If you keep taking it like a punching bag, she'll never go out with you. You've got to act like a man!" Marcus reminded himself to find out if Mary spent much time with Elfman. Mary and Abigail had somehow gotten it into their heads that Marcus had a crush on Holly. Although he didn't even know how he felt about her, he did know that a lot of the guild joked about how Marcus and Holly would make such a cute couple when they grew up. Holly only mocked the idea, while Marcus just got embarrassed and brushed it off as idle joking.

As Abigail and Mary kept arguing about how Marcus should handle the situation with Holly, the boy glanced over in the direction of the young ice mage. She was laughing and talking with her father. All he could do was stare at her, contemplating how he felt about the girl. Despite everyones insistence that he had a crush on her, he wasn't completely sure that was it. He felt very protective of her. One time when she had come back from a job with a twisted ankle, he couldn't help but feel his stomach twist at the sight of her limping around the guild hall. Although it had been nice in some ways. For one, she hadn't been able to subject Marcus to his normal abuse.

"Hey perv, what are you staring at?" Hollys voice brought Marcus out of the daze he had slipped into. He only then realized that he was staring at her with a stupid grin on his face.

"N-nothing." He stammered.

"Listen blue eyes, I know you've got a major crush on me. And I can't blame you. Just look at me. But don't think anything'll ever happen between us. Got it? I'd never date a weakling like you." Holly's words cut him deep. Of course she thought that he liked her. She had heard the jokes thrown around about the two of them. The only mages in the guild who didn't seem to like the idea of the two being a couple were their fathers. Whenever Natsu or Grey caught wind of someone pairing Marcus and Holly, even in joke, the men would go into a rampage, claiming that their child would never be with the offspring of their rival, despite the friendship the two shared.

"I don't like you! Everyone just says that! I'm leaving." Marcus got up and ran out the doors towards the woods outside Magnolia, leaving a trail of smoldering footprints on the ground behind him.

"I wonder what that's about." Natsu asked Mira as he saw his son run out of the door.

"Oh nothing. Just young love," Mira said happily as she remembered how Natsu used to run away to the woods when he was younger and people teased him about his relationship with Lisanna. "Just let him work it out on his own. Its hard trying to figure out feelings when you're young like Marcus. Only he can decide for himself."

"What feelings?" Natsu asked, oblivious as always.

"Marcus' feelings for… you know what? Forget I mentioned anything. He'll be back soon."


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

When Marcus made it to the edge of the woods, he felt himself letting go of the issues that troubled him. Magic no longer bothered him. Holly seemed like a distant memory. All he felt was the wind running through his hair as he ran, jumped, and wove his way through the trees towards his secret spot.

Marcus had found this place a few months ago after a particularly bad shouting at by Holly. He had ran into the woods, crying the whole way, until he had collapsed. When he had gotten up, he realized that he had come to a small lake filled with strange fish. After looking around, he round a small cave that a full grown man would have to hunch over to get into. After carefully asking around so as not to raise suspicion, he asked people around town if they knew that the pond was there. Nobody had any idea what he had been talking about.

Marcus then decided to keep the secret an area a secret from everyone, even from Abigail and Mary. The boy had spent days clearing the area around the lake and making the cave a little more comfortable. He also brought along his lucky fishing pole (a gift from Happy), blankets, and a small lantern to keep in the cave. This place had become Marcus' own private training ground, where he could fail at magic without having to worry about anyone seeing.

As he neared the lake, something felt difference to Marcus. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was off. Despite his inability to defend himself with magic, Marcus readied himself for a fight with whatever happened to jump out at him. He quickly prepared himself for what might be waiting for him. Some magical beast? A dark wizard? Mavis forbid Holly had somehow followed him and lied in wait to attack him.

When he reached the edge of the clearing that led to the lake, Marcus hid behind a bush and evaluated the spot. He didn't notice anything wrong until a movement at the mouth of the cave caught his eye. A middle age man wearing a long, dark coat and pants walked out of the cave holding Marcus' fishing pole.

Something about seeing the stranger handling the gift from his uncle got Marcus fired up. Another of the few traits that he seemed to get from his father was a severe lack of control over his emotions.

"Hey mister! Put that down before I break you!"

The man turned around at the sudden intruder. At the site of the young boy with clenched fists, the man only chuckled. "Hey kid, don't be like that. Here, I'm putting it down." The stranger put the rod down and put his hands up in the air, obviously mocking the young boy before him.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? I'm the only one who knows that this place is here," Marcus slowly began to put his fists down and walked into the clearing.

The man sat down on the grass. As Marcus got closer in order to pick up his fishing pole, he noticed new details about the man. As the edge of his coat caught the sun, Marcus noticed that it wasn't all black. A golden design that Marcus thought looked like fire flashed before it once again blended in with the rest of the coat. The man had dark black hair, but near white skin, making him look almost like a ghost.

The most striking thing about him, though, that Marcus noticed, was his eyes. They were golden. Not onyx like his dad's or even a light brown. They were as bright and shining as his mom's gate keys.

"Im… how should I answer this… Let's just say that this is a very special place for me. Now my turn to ask you a question. How did you get here?" The man asked Marcus.

"I found it when I was trying to get away from my problems. I'm Marcus." He held his small hand out towards the man, who he had decided wasn't a threat. That was one of Marcus' other skills. He was good at judging whether a person was a threat or not. The man looked confused for a moment before enclosing the boys hand with his own, which was surprisingly large.

"That explains it. This place has always been a safe haven for those seeking refuge. Tell me, are you a wizard?"

Marcus was reluctant to answer. Although he trusted that the man wouldn't hurt him, Marcus wasn't completely ready to trust him. If he let on that his control over magic was sketchy at best, then he would basically be letting he stranger know he was defenseless.

He decided to tell a partial truth. "Yes. I am." The man seemed to accept it.

"Hmmm. Hold out both your hands." Marcus once again became defensive, his hands not budging from where they hung at his sides.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you. I want to show you a trick." Marcus did as the man asked. Once again, the large hands of the young boy were hidden from sight by the larger hands that engulfed them. The man closed his eyes. Marcus suddenly jumped as he realized that flames were spreading from where his hands where clasped with the strangers. He tried to pull away, but the stranger refused to let go. While he struggled to free himself, Marcus realized that the flames didn't burn. They instead felt comfortably warm. After a few seconds, the flames covered his entire body.

Suddenly, the flames were gone. The man opened his eyes and let go of Marcus' hands. His golden eyes stared right into Marcus' own blue eyes. Marcus could see a glint of mischief in those golden eyes.

"Marcus Dragneel. Son of Natsu and Lucy Dragneel. Oldest of 3 children. Member of the Fairy Tail guild." The man kept listing off facts about Marcus, stunning the boy. "Hmmmm… Interesting. I see you're having trouble with your magic. And your father is a dragon slayer. Even more interesting. And what's this? Who's Holly?" The mention at the girl snapped Marcus out of his daze.

"How did you know all that?" Marcus asked, his fists lighting up with golden fire. At the sight of the flames, Marcus became confused. Since when can I control my fire like this? The strange man glanced down at Marcus' hands and cracked a grin.

"Hmmm… you have a fire burning in you, don't you? I think I can help you control your magic. It's decided. I'll be your teacher." The man stood up and cracked his knuckles.

"My dad is my teacher. You haven't even told me who you are!" Marcus cried incredulously.

"Call me Ignatius. And I'm a phoenix. And you, Marcus, Dragneel, you're going to be a Phoenix slayer."


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4

"What? A phoenix? Phoenix slayer? What are you talking about?" Marcus stammered.

"Have you never heard of a phoenix before? What have your parents been teaching you?"

"First of all, a phoenix is a giant bird. You are not a giant bird. Second, phoenixes are a myth." That second comment made the man, Ignatius, wince.

"You are partly correct. The giant bird is only one form of the phoenix race. Human is the other. And that last one hurt. Your dad was raised by a dragon. Your uncle is a talking cat. How hard is it to believe that a phoenix is real?"

"I guess you're right. Sorry." Ignatius seemed to accept the apology.

"Allow me to explain. Phoenixes are an ancient race. Stories of ancient phoenixes were told when the dragons were just hatchlings. Since then, we have lived in the shadows, as silent watchers and protectors. There are few phoenixes left, however. Many have chosen to let themselves move on to the next life.

'I am Ignatius, the fire phoenix, as I hoped you have guessed. Like dragons, we are a mighty race, using ancient, powerful magic. After looking into your memories, one of my many powers, I have decided to try something that has never been attempted before. If your father and others can learn the magic of dragons, maybe you can learn the magic of the phoenixes."

"You mean there has never been any phoenix slayers?" Marcus thought about this. Maybe this was his chance. Maybe he wouldn't be a loser anymore. Maybe Holly wouldn't think he was weak anymore! "Okay. Ill do it."

"Well I'm glad that you have accepted my offer, because we're going to have a lot of time together. 6 years to be exact."

"What do you mean?"

"This clearing is magic, if you haven't noticed already. For some reason you have managed to find it, which no human has ever done. It is a refuge for magical creatures seeking shelter. That is why I came. I needed a break from the world outside. Once a creature enters the grove, I guess you would say the clearing enters a different dimension. Nothing but wilderness. I'm sorry, but by coming to this place at the same time as me, you have been stuck here ever since. In 6 years, when the time is up, we can leave."

Marcus couldn't believe it. Ignatius had to be lying. He started to run back towards town. He had to get home. Suddenly, Ignatius appeared in front of him. How did he move so fast? Marcus threw the thought aside as he came closer to having a breakdown.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. There is no way out. But I can do one thing to make this easier. Take my hand." Marcus had no other choice, hoping that Ignatius wouldn't look into his mind again to see just how scared he truly was.

Lucy Dragneel had just gotten back from her latest job when a splitting pain in her head caused her to fall to her knees. She looked around, expecting to see some thug who had decided to attack her. However, once the stars cleared, the woman didn't see anyone. Instead, all she heard was a familiar voice.

Mom, are you there?

"Marcus? Is that you? Where are you?" Lucy began looking around for her son. Maybe he saw who had attacked her.

Im sorry mom. I messed up. I'm in the forest.

"How are you talking to me? Are you with Warren?" referring to the telepath.

No, I was in the forest when I came across a strange man. He's a phoenix. Apparently, I wandered into some magic area. I'm now trapped here for 6 years. Ignatius, the phoenix, offered to train me. He says he can help me control my magic.

"Marcus, this is crazy. There has to be some way out. I can ask Levy, im sure she can-"

It wont work. I'm sorry. This is the last chance I have to talk to anyone, and I called you. Please tell everyone, Abigail, Mary, the twins, and especially dad, that I'll be okay.

Maybe it was the shock, or maybe it was her motherly instinct, but something told Lucy that what her son said was telling the truth. Somehow she knew that he would be okay. She started to cry.

"Okay. 6 years. You can do this. You're strong. You may not believe it, but you are just as strong, if not stronger than your father. I'll leave your room just as you left it." Lucy thought for a bit. "Is there anything you want me to tell Holly?"

Mooooooooom. Please stop. I'm trying to say goodbye. At least for now. I love y-

Suddenly, the connection broke. Lucy felt like a part of herself broke off along with it. She began crying harder and ran as fast as she could to the guild hall.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

The doors of the Fairytail guild hall went flying off their hinges, crashing to the floor. All chaos inside the guild ceased as everyone looked at what had caused the sudden damage to the doors. Expecting to see Erza or maybe even Guildarts, mouths dropped as everyone realized it was Lucy, bawling her eyes out.

The crying woman looked around the room until her eyes fell on her husband. Quick as a thought, Natsu appeared at Lucy's side, just in time to catch her as she collapsed.

"He's gone. He's really gone."

"Who's gone?" the pink haired mage asked the crying woman.

"Marcus. He's gone. He was transported to some strange magical refugee forest by some phoenix."

"What do you mean?"

"How?"

"What phoenix?" The questions came at her nonstop.

"He called me telepathically using the phoenix's power. He said he won't be home for 6 years, but not to worry. But Natsu, how can I help but worry." She expected her husband to go into a fit of rage, tearing apart the forest, ripping up every tree, trying to find their son.

Instead, Natsu laughed. He couldn't stop laughing.

"Lucy, this is one of the greatest things to ever happen to our son! Don't you see! Igneel told me stories about the phoenixes. He didn't believe they existed, that they were just legends told to little dragons. If the phoenixes are real, then our son is going to be fine. I mean look at me. I was raised by a dragon. I turned out fine…ish. Besides, it's only for 6 years." Everyone around the guild hall stared at the dragon slayer like he was crazy. Only Gajeel and Wendy seemed to understand what he was saying.

After a lot of discussion, and a lot of tears, the three dragon slayers finally calmed everyone down enough to convince them not to destroy the forest. Mira then had the idea to keep a clock going, counting down the seconds until Marcus returned. Lucy appreciated the gesture, and felt much better. However, she still felt like a part of her was missing.

The only other person possibly as distraught as Lucy was the blue haired girl sitting in the back corner of the guild hall. Holly had been shocked by the news at first, expecting to feel happy that the weakling was out of her hair for 6 years. Instead, all she felt was sadness. She couldn't tell why, so she decided to brush the feeling off. However hard she tried to forget the blue eyed boy, though, she couldn't help but feel a little twinge of guilt.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

Marcus, after talking with his mother and wishing her goodbye, asked Ignatius to begin training immediately, in order to help the boy get his mind off of home. Training began basic enough. First, Ignatius taught Marcus to control his fire, then to start manipulating it.

After weeks of training, the golden flames could be summoned with barely a thought, reacting more to Marcus' emotions than anything. Later training became harder and stranger. More than just magic, Marcus began learning ancient languages, repeating phrases to his teacher while summoning fire. He also listened to the stories that Ignatius told him about a time before dragons, engrossed in the details and stories of heroes long lost to history.

The only thing stranger than the training was the trainer. Marcus soon learned about the daily cycle of the phoenix.

"It's a three day process you see. The first day, I wake up young, like a teenager. The second day, I wake up as a man. The third day, I wake up as an old geezer. Then the process starts all over again." At the end of the third day, Marcus stayed up late to witness the transformation for old to young. What he witnessed that night changed him forever. At what Marcus suspected to be exactly midnight, Ignatius began to glow. He became brighter and brighter, until he was completely engulfed in multi-colored flames. Marcus had never seen a more beautiful sight in his life.

When the fire had died down, there remained nothing but a large pile of ash. Out of the ash, a kid, no older than 16, jumped out, wearing a youthful version of Ignatius' iconic black and gold coat, which had turned into a robe of the same colors when Ignatius was an old man.

The years passed, quicker than Marcus had expected. He grew taller and taller, until he had reached just 6 feet tall. He also developed a lean, muscular physique due to the hard training. His hair kept its curls, and his eyes became an even deeper blue. More important than his physical changes, Marcus became more powerful. He also changed emotionally. He was no longer the timid, fearful boy he had been. He became more confident. He no longer felt like a disappointment. He had turned into a warrior, a phoenix slayer.

However, all this time, Ignatius never turned into his true phoenix form. Despite Marcus' constant begging, the teacher never once changed.

With only a few months left in their 6 months together, Ignatius began to prepare Marcus for the world once again. Since he had learned the ancient tongue of the Phoenixes, Marcus and Ignatius rarely spoke any human tongues. It was difficult for Marcus to get used to speaking the language he had grown up with for 12 years again.

Finally, the day came. The Fairy Tail tattoo on his shoulder began to glow, seeming to sense that the day was here. That morning, Ignatius and Marcus shared one last breakfast together, filling their bellies until they felt like they were going to burst. Ignatius was in his teenage state. The phoenix actually looked younger than Marcus, something that had given Marcus the creeps for the last 2 years.

"Well, this is good bye I guess." Ignatius said thoughtfully while they stood on the border, where Marcus would step through and return home

"What do you mean? Are you not coming with me?" Marcus asked, struggling to speak his native tounge.

"Remember how I said that I came to this place seeking refuge? Well, I was running from someone. Someone powerful. Now it's time for me to return home and face them." Ignatius said with grim determination. Although Ignatius had told Marcus the ancient stories, Ignatius never revealed anything personal.

"I'll come with you. I can help you."

"No. You have to return home. Your mother will kill you and me if you don't." After hearing stories of Lucy, Ignatius shuddered at the thought of receiving one of her famous kicks Marcus had described all too well.

"Okay. I'll go home. But you have to promise to come back."

"Sure thing." The two exchanged a grin. Suddenly, the air in front of them shimmered. "Okay. This is it. Let's go home."

The two "boys" stepped forward. When they reached the edge of the forest, and could see Magnolia in the distance, they exchanged a brief hug.

"I'll miss you Ignatius."

"I'll miss you too buddy. Say hi to Holly for me." The phoenix said with a mischievous grin. Although they never talked about it, Marcus still knew he would have to confront the ice mage. As he began to wonder what she would be like, Ignatius began to glow. Marcus stepped away, wondering what was happening. Suddenly, in a burst of multi-colored flame, the teenager turned into a bird, so bright and so magnificent, Marcus had to shield his eyes as the flaming bird flied away, disappearing in the clouds. When he looked down at where his teacher had been standing, Marcus noticed Ignatius' jacket, in its younger form, neatly folded.

As Marcus slipped it over his hoodie, which somehow had grown with him all those years, a rush of excitement filled the boy's heart, and he began running towards Fairy Tail, not having forgotten a single step of the way home.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7

Earlier that morning, everyone from Fairy Tail had gone to the guild hall extra early to set up for the party. As Mira's clock clicked down to the final hours, everyone was filled with excitement. They all wanted to see what had become of Marcus, the young boy who had left 6 years ago to train with some legendary creature.

Not much had changed at the guild in the 6 years. The kids had all grown up, but they were as rowdy as ever. The twin Dragneel children had been running around excitedly for the last month, thrilled to have their brother back home once again.

Abigail and Mary were still like a magnate, polar opposites, but inseparable. Abigail, or as she was known now as Abby, had remained soft spoken. She still read often, and rarely used violence. Mary was as tough as ever, fighting anyone who made fun of her sister. The sisters, however, had not grown to be any taller as their mother, earning them the collective nickname "The Shrimps."

Natsu and Lucy hadn't changed really changed either. Although they were getting older, Natsu was still as strong and destructive as ever, and Lucy hadn't lost any of her feminine charm, according to her at least. It had taken all of Lucy's will power to not wait outside the forest for her son to return home. Natsu had insisted that they wait for him at the guild along with everyone else. Something about the entire guild being his family, and wanting to share the homecoming with everyone else.

Only one Fairy Tail wizard wasn't in the guild hall that morning. Holly Fullbuster had taken a job a few days before the clock was set to hit zero. It had been her intention to be away for at least a few a few days when Marcus returned home. Unfortunately for her, no longer how long she tried to stall, she found herself getting off the train and walking back towards the guild the same morning Marcus was set to come home.

The girl had grown into a beautiful young woman according to almost everyone in the guild, besides maybe her father, who insisted she was still his little ice princess. She still had her blue hair, which she kept long, and her face had lost none of the scowl that it had had when she was only a little girl. She was about 5 and a half feet tall, and had a body any woman would kill for, taking after her mother. But most importantly, she was one of the most powerful young mages Fairy Tail had to offer.

Holly didn't know how she felt about Marcus returning home. As she had grown older, she had begun to feel more and more confused feelings for him. Although she had tried to date other boys, they all bored her. For some reason, she felt like with Marcus gone, she wasn't going to be able to move on like so many others had.

As she trudged down the path towards the guild, she felt someone bump into her from behind. As the two tumbled over each other, they began rolling down the hill, kicking up dust as they went. When they finally came to a stop, Holly was the first on her feet, ready for to fight whatever idiot had the never to not watch where he was going. As she circled around the young man who had run into her, she slowly lowered her fists and examined him. The first thing she noticed was his hair. It was a curly, wavy mess of blonde mixed with brown specks from the dirt. The next thing she noticed was his jacket. Although it had appeared black at first, she noticed a faint shimmer along the edges.

As the guy stood up, Holly got her first good look at his face, although she had to look up considerably to see it, as he was much taller than her. His face was thin, but with strong features. Even with him being covered with dirt, Holly could tell he was tan from being outside for long periods of time. His jacket was over a gray hoodie, paired with a simple pair of jeans and boots. Although his clothing covered his body, Holly could tell from the way he held himself that he was in very good shape, and very strong.

Holly still stared at him while he rubbed his neck and worked the kinks out of it. That was when he opened his eyes. Holly's breath left her when she looked into his deep, blue eyes. She couldn't help but be mesmerized by the way they beckoned to her. They resembled the blue sapphires she had admired in jewelry store windows.

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to run into you. I was just on my way home. I'm kind of in a hurry. I'll find you later and apologize properly, but I really have to go." The boy who had captured Holly's attention said, just before he took off running again at incredible pace in the direction she was heading. While Holly stood there, considering chasing after him and demanding that he tell her his name, the boy disappeared behind a building, along with her opportunity.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8

When Marcus ran into the poor girl, he felt terrible. His first human interaction and 6 years, and he runs into a girl. After he stood up, he only had a moment to take in her looks before he took off again, eager to get back to the family he hadn't seen in 6 years.

He had noticed, however, how beautiful she was. The way her blue hair waved in the wind, and how her eyes stared back into his left him wondering who this girl was, and whether she was some beautiful statue made come to life. She had been perfect, even when covered in dust.

Marcus told himself that he would find her later after having the reunion with his family and guild, which he viewed as one in the same. When he made it to the guild, he stood outside the doors, gathering himself. He had been gone for 6 years. He didn't give much thought to how much he had changed, but he had thought a lot about how much his friends and family had.

As he opened up the doors, he was bombarded with the sounds of pure happiness and excitement. Colors and flashes of light were everywhere as people summoned streamers and fire-works inside the building. As he steadied himself, unprepared for the onslaught of his senses, he began to look around.

Everyone was lined up around the door in a semi-circle, leaving him barely any room to stand. It was a miracle the doors had managed to even open. The first people he saw were his parents. Natsu and Lucy Dragneel stood there, mouths open in shock and amazement. Their other two children stood on either side, staring at the stranger who had passed through the door.

Suddenly, the music and lights stopped. Everyone was frozen in place, including Marcus. Nobody dared make any move towards the man until the fire dragon slayer or celestial spirit had their moment out of respect. Natsu was the first one to move, followed by Happy. The two cautiously approached the blonde man. Natsu's eyes were squinted, his nose was sniffing the air. Marcus could sense that every sense the pink haired man possessed was focused on him, as if attempting to sense whether he was an enemy. Happy flew just above the Marcus' head, like some sort of blue halo.

Natsu, who had been circling the newcomer, finally stopped in front of the man and looked up slightly, as the blonde was slightly taller than the dragon slayer. Finally, the Salamander opened his mouth and spoke.

"Dammit. My own son is taller than me." Then he cracked his signature grin, and gave Marcus a bear hug that even Elfman would be jealous of. With the tension broken, the lights and sounds once again filled the air. Lucy and the twins rushed forward to join in on the hug, followed by the rest of the guild.

"My baby is home!" Lucy cried.

"And look how tall he is!" someone else cried.

"Why is he covered in dirt?" a different voice questioned.

"Because he's a man! That's why." A loud, burly voice echoed in response.

And that's basically how the next few hours went. Having spent the last 6 years with only one other "person" and the animals of the forest as company, Marcus was quickly overwhelmed by the large amount of people rushing to see him. After spending the first half hour talking to his family and listening to his mom and sister crying, Natsu finally turned Marcus over to the rest of the guild. Conversations flew by, hugs and handshakes seemed non-stop. Many of the girls seemed flustered when they talked to Marcus, who didn't notice because he was just as dense as his father. Grey even managed to stop arguing with Natsu long enough to talk to Marcus.

Although Marcus was flattered with the attention he was getting, he couldn't help but look for someone in particular. He had asked Abby and Mary where Holly was, and he was disappointed when they said that she had gone on a mission just before he came back. Marcus wasn't sure how he felt about her not being there. Maybe it was relief. Or even happiness that she wasn't there to mock him on one of the happiest days of his life. But he had the nagging feeling that the emotion he was feeling was disappointment.

The masters Makarov and Mavis pulled Marcus aside. The two of them, after hugging him and exchanging greetings like everyone else, began to ask him about Ignatius. They had both heard stories about the phoenixes, and were dying to know anything they could about the mysterious creatures. Marcus was still debating how much about his teacher and friend he should reveal right now, remembering what Ignatius had said before leaving, that he was being chased by someone. Before Marcus could answer, the doors of the guild opened once again. As he turned around, thankful to have an excuse to leave the interrogation for another day, he was knocked backwards by a gust of frigid wind. The woman who had just walked through the door was the same woman he had run into on the way over to the guild, and she did not look happy.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

After her encounter with the blue eyed boy who had run into her, Holly was in a bad mood. First she had missed her opportunity to talk to the really hot guy who had run into her. Secondly, she was going to be forced to confront Marcus sooner than she would have liked. And third, her favorite skirt had been ruined during the fall. All these thoughts were running through her head when she finally made it to Fairy Tail. She pushed open the huge doors and was confronted with the welcome home party for Marcus.

Well, I guess the kid made I back after all. As she step through the doors, avoiding a flying cat carrying a fish in his mouth, she saw him. The boy from earlier, the one who had ruined her favorite skirt. Before Holly could ask herself what he was doing in the guild hall, she sent a powerful snow storm gust of wind at him, knocking him to the ground.

"Just what do you think you're doing young lady?" Makarov asked her sternly as she approached the person she had just knocked to the ground.

"Giving this guy a piece of my mind. He knocks me down, stares at me with those stupid blue eyes, all perfect like, then runs away without even a proper apology!" Suddenly it hit her. She finally put the pieces together in that split second, where time seemed to stand still. The blonde hair. The blue eyes. The strange feeling in her gut that this guy was powerful. Hell, the fact that he was in the guild hall the same exact day that Marcus was supposed to return. This idiot was Marcus Dragneel. By then, everyone was staring at the scene taking place. Time started moving again and Holly. She felt everyones eyes on her as she noticed that she was semi holding Marcus off the floor by his hoodie. Thinking quickly, and trying to save some face, she came up with a brilliant plan. She dropped him, then ran out the back door.

"Ah young love," Mira said, starting an uproar of laughter and whistles from everyone in the guild except for Natsu and Grey, who stared at each other with murderous eyes.

"Awww. Look, he's blushing!" Someone in the crowd said.

"Back for 5 minutes and already he has girls falling for him. Or maybe it's the other way around!" this comment in particular really got the crowd going.

"He liiiiiiiiiiikes her," a feline voice could be heard about the sound of laughter.

"Shut up cat!" Marcus yelled as he got up off the floor and chased after Holly. As he left, he could hear more and more people laughing and talking about how even after 6 years, the pair were still meant for each other. The comments made Marcus blush, despite not being quite sure of how to feel about her yet. All he knew was that he had to find Holly and apologize quickly, or else ruin any chance at having any kind of friendship or relationship with her.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch. 10

Shit. What have I done? I'm barely back and already Holly hates me again. Why do I keep messing up? Marcus finally made it out the back door and looked around for the ice mage. He found her sitting underneath the giant tree, using her ice make to summon miniature icicles that she was stabbing into an icy doll that he thought he bared an unfortunate resemblance too.

"Stupid Marcus. Stupid eyes. Stupid hair. Stupid dumb look on his face…" Holly went on listing things about Marcus that she thought were stupid as he cautiously approached her.

"You know," he said when he was about 20 feet away, far enough to make a quick escape if the girl suddenly decided to attack him with one of her icicles, "I never got a chance to apologize for running into you earlier. I feel really bad about it. I'll find some way to fix your skirt if you want." He eyed the tear in the blue fabric, and couldn't help but notice that the skin underneath was very smooth and attractive.

"What are you looking at pervert? Never seen a girl's leg before?" Holly asked, snapping him back into reality.

"Well, not really. Not for the last 6 years anyway." Marcus replied sheepishly.

"Oh ya. I forgot. Sorry," Holly said, worried she had brought up a sore subject.

"It's okay. I don't mind." Marcus sat down next to her. She tried moving away, but the tree blocked her only escape, forcing her to talk to him. "I haven't talked to another human for 6 years," he said as he looked out into the distance. Holly couldn't help but realize just how mature he had gotten, noticing his strong features and intense, serious eyes.

"Ya, well, you didn't miss much. People are still as big of jerks as ever." Holly spit, thinking of the others inside who were probably making fun of the two young wizards.

"Don't worry about them. They're just joking. Nothing could ever happen between us." His response shocked her. Had he gotten over her? Maybe Marcus hated her all these years, remembering how poorly she had treated him when they were little. His comment that nothing could ever happen between them made her stomach twist. He ignored that feeling once again, and stood up.

"You're right. Now get back inside and enjoy your party." Holly was desperate to get away from him. The strange feeling of all her emotions twisting and turning her stomach confused her. And when she didn't understand something, she chose just to ignore it.

"Okay. Bye." Marcus got up and left, leaving Holly feeling empty and confused.


	11. Chapter 11

Ch. 11

"Okay son. Let's see what that bird taught you." Natsu and his son stood in the middle of the Fairy Tail training arena, which was little more than a dirt and grass field with a few benches lined up along the edge. The few benches there were, however, were crowded with people, excited to see what kind of magic this wayward son had learned. The two mages preparing to fight were wearing work out shorts, and not else. Sweat mixed with dirt as their shuffling feet filled the air with it.

A few days had passed, and after Marcus had gotten settled in, he insisted that he start training again. For 6 years he had trained every day, and taking even a couple of days off made him feel uncomfortable.

""Fire dragon's roar!" Natsu said as he let loose one of his most powerful spells, starting the sparing bout. Marcus easily dodged the blast of fire, and moved to begin flanking his dad, using the smoke and dust cloud as cover. Natsu's senses and years of fighting prepared him for his sons move. The dragon slayer charged to his left, where he sensed Marcus. His flame covered fist shot out at lightning speed, but only connected with air. Marcus had already leaped into the air, anticipating his dads move. As he landed lightly on his feet, just behind the Salamander, he spun and sunk low, using his foot to knocking Natsu to the ground as his legs were swept from beneath him.

There were gasps coming from the on looking crowd.

"Natsu's down, from just one kick!"

"So fast."

"He didn't even use magic."

"So I guess that bird brain training wasn't completely worthless. Let's see if your flames are as powerful as your kicks." Marcus helped his father off the ground, and the two faced off again. Natsu shot a fireball right at Marcus. The blue eyed boy calmly watched as it came toward him. When it was less than three feet away from his face, Marcus held up a hand, intercepting the attack. Immediately, he was engulfed in flames. The fire ball Natsu shot exploded with immense power, burning the arm hair off any of the spectators who were sitting two close.

"Shit! I over did it! Marcus! Someone help! Get Juvia!" As Natsu and the other mages sprinted towards the fiery inferno that had surrounded the boy, they were stopped in their tracks when the flames began to recede at an unnatural pace. As more and more flames disappeared, those who had previously been rushing towards Marcus were greeted with the sight of the young man, sucking in the flames of his father like they were food.

"You can eat fire?" Natsu cried incredibously.

After Marcus had finished off the rest of the flames, and showing to everyone that he was perfectly fine, he responded to his dad, "Well, when I told my teacher about how you ate fire, we didn't know if it would work for me, not being a dragon slayer and all. After talking about it, we decided to try it. Not only do the flames give me more power, but I am healed and given more physical strength. You had your shot. Now its mine. If you think you can take it," Marcus replied to his father with a cocky attitude.

"Im all fired up now! Lets go Marcus! Everyone else, back away. Get behind him so you don't get burned.

Marcus centered himself, gathering his power. His body then became engulfed in golden flames. He then channeled his power into his core, preparing the attack.

"Fire Phoenix Shriek!" and with that, he opened his mouth as a rush of flames left his mouth, accompanied by a sound like a hawk, only deeper and much, much louder. As the golden flames rushed towards Natsu, they grew larger and larger. Power behind them kept building and building, more powerful than any attack Natsu had launched at Marcus so far. The dragon slayer didn't even have time to defend himself, and something told him that the flames his son had just launched would not be edible, the same was the flames of a god weren't. They were just too ancient and too powerful.

Natsu could only dive to the ground as the flames roared above him. His back felt hot, almost painfully so, despite his immunity to normal fire. When the flames subsided, Natsu pulled himself up off the ground, and looked behind him. A path about 20 feet wide and very, very long had been cleared from the thick forest of trees. Natsu and the rest of the wizards watching were dumb struck.

"Um, sorry. I guess I went a bit over board." It was Marcus who broke the stunned silence. "Don't worry though. The trees will grow back faster, and be stronger than before, reborn from the ashes." He scratched his neck sheepishly and chuckled a bit. Natsu then rushed over to him and lifted his son in a strong bear hug.

"He did it! Marcus has found his path. He is officially a wizard! My son, the Phoenix slayer!" Natsu and the others lifted Marcus into the air, carrying him around on their shoulders, cheering for the boy. One little girl, much too short to help carry Marcus around, looked towards the scar that had been burned into the forest. Already, saplings were popping out of the ground.


	12. Chapter 12

Ch. 12

After his sparring match with his dad, Marcus had talked to the Masters about starting to go on jobs.

"Of course my boy! All young men need to earn enough money to take care of their special friends," the Makarov had nudged at Marcus, making him blush. It hadn't helped that Holly had walked by at that exact moment, causing Mavis to start giggling like a school girl. Marcus had no such intention. His feelings for Holly still confused him. He was thinking more along the lines of getting his own home.

Marcus had been staying in his old room in his parents' house, but he was 18 now. After convincing his mom, which took a lot of effort, they agreed that Marcus should move out and begin his life once again. So for the next few months, he had been going out on jobs non-stop, earning enough money for a down payment on an apartment and a few months of rent, just in case. This was a lesson he had taken from his mother.

Marcus like going out on jobs for a couple reasons. One was the money. The second was the experience. Although he had only been gone for 6 years, he had missed a lot. Nothing important, like any wars or new enemies coming out of the cracks. It was the small things that he missed, like what music groups had become popular, who the most famous new actor was, which books were popular, things like that. Marcus didn't even know what a normal 18 year old did. While out on jobs, he could experience the world for himself, learning. He also got to practice more of his native tongue. Marcus found himself slipping into the ancient language of the phoenixes less and less, although he never forgot it. He had quickly developed a reputation for his power and helpfulness, gaining the respect of his clients and others. Unbeknownst to Marcus, he had also gained a lot of popularity among the women of the kingdom due to his good looks and kind nature. He even heard people starting to retell stories about the phoenixes, although many of the stories he found to be wrong, having been changed slowly throughout time. Things were looking good for the phoenix slayer.

After collecting a large sum of money, Marcus began looking for an apartment. He ran across a flier about someone asking for a roommate. The person who had posted the flier had apparently found a large apartment in town that would fit 2 people. The flier didn't have a name on it, but there was a date on it, saying that they will meet on move in day. That was 2 days ago when Marcus found the flier. After he had packed his bags and bid his family goodbye, Marcus left for his new home in Magnolia.

When he made it to the address, he immediately fell in love with the apartment. It was right by the canal that ran through Magnolia, with a pastry shop underneath. It was only a 20 minute walk away from the guild hall. Marcus was surprised that nobody else from the guild had snatched it up yet. He met the land lady out front. She seemed kind enough, and immediately offered to show him the apartment after showing her the flyer.

"Oh yes. The person who posted this walked in right before you. They are upstairs, settling in. It seems that the half of down payment has already been paid, meaning all you have to do is pay the other half and sign this contract to make it official." She pulled a piece of paper out of her robes handed it over to Marcus, along with a pen. After signing and making his payment, along with the first 3 months of rent, Marcus opened the front door to his new home.

As he looked around, Marcus knew that he had made the right choice. The place was beautiful. Just looking at the living room, he felt at home already. There was a couch and chairs circling a fire place, which made Marcus's blue eyes light up more than normal. A small kitchen was connected to the living room. Although he had no skill at cooking, having lived in the wilderness for 6 years, learning to do so was on Marcus' list of things to do.

"It's two bedroom, one bath, with a kitchen, living room, and a balcony that faces west that a person can see the setting sun. By the way, based on your jacket, I assumed you're a wizard. I only rent this apartment to mages." Marcus could only nod as he looked around the place. It was true. He was wearing the jacket that Ignatius had given him. Many people compared it to his father's iconic scarf, a gift from Igneel.

"Well, I'll let you settle in. Your roommate is probably in her room right now. Why don't you go say hello." The land lady walk out of the room, closing the door beind her. Her room? Marcus hadn't considered that his new roommate might be a girl. Not that it made a difference of course. Marcus wasn't a pervert, despite whatever Holly said about him.

"Hello?" a girls voice called from the room to his right. "I'll be right out. I'm just trying to hang a-" Her voice was cut off by the sound of a large crash. Marcus' instincts took over and he dropped his bag as the phoenix slayer rushed into the room the noise had come from. When he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of a girl lying on the floor, pinned underneath a disco ball. As she struggled to lift it, Marcus couldn't help but notice how her extremely short skirt threatened to flip up. He lifted the ball off the girl and hung it from the hook she had been attempting to before the stool the girl was standing on had given out.

As he then helped her up, he felt his heart sink. The girl in front of him, the girl who would be his roommate, was none other than Holly Fullbuster. And she did not look happy.


	13. Chapter 13

Ch. 13

Holly had woken up early to get to the apartment before her new roommate did. She wanted to have the pick of the rooms. The ice mage had decided to move out of her parents' house when she overheard that her parents were thinking about having another child. The land lady had greeted her, and led her up to the place, signing the paper work as they went.

When she had chosen her room, the land lady had left to go downstairs to wait for Hollys new roommate. As the girl decorated her room, she thought about who her new roommate would be. For some reason, she decided not to put her name on the flyer or set up an advanced meeting to discuss details and get to know each other. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't quite remember what had made her overlook such important details. She shrugged off the feeling, accepting this as a new adventure.

When her disco ball had collapsed, and her unknown savior had rescued her from the over-sized party decoration, she felt embarrassed that this would be her first impression on the new roommate. When she looked up, all she could see at first was the silhouette made by the ceiling lights of a tall, muscular looking guy. Dammit. What if he's hot? Is this how he's going to think of me from now on? As a clutz? When her eyes had adjusted to the light, fears of her horrible first impression took a back seat to the anger that filled her.

It was him. It had been Marcus Dragneel that had helped her. What the hell was he doing in her apartment when her new roommate would be coming in at any minute? That was when it hit her, harder than any disco ball. Marcus was her new roommate.

"Oh. Um. Hi, Holly. Looks like we're roommates." Marcus tried to sound positive, but instead he voice came out as more of a stutter. As he helped Holly to her feet, Holly just glared at him.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded in a voice colder than her ice magic.

"I think I live here now."

"Not possible. How?"

"I saw your flier. I didn't know it was you, I swear." Marcus blushed a bit.

"What idiot agrees to move in with someone they might not have ever met?"

"You're the one who made the flyer and didn't put your name on it."

Damn, he had her there. Holly, thought about it for a minute.

"Did you read the contract?" Holly asked.

"No."

"Of course you didn't. You're just as stupid as your dad. Unfortunately, its pretty air tight. Once you sign it, and pay, you're locked in for the next 5 years."

"So you mean we're stuck together?"

"What do you mean "stuck together"? I bet you're just waiting for your opportunity to try and get with me you pervert!"

"I'm not a pervert! I swear! If we're stuck together, lets at least try to make the best of it." Marcus pleaded with Holly. Finally, after calming her down, they agreed that they would tolerate each other for the next 5 years. While ironing out the details, Marcus couldn't help but feel just a tiny bit hopeful that fate had brought him and Holly together for a reason. Maybe they were meant to be best friends, but just didn't know it yet. Marcus didn't allow himself to think anything beyond that though. He was on shaky enough ground already. When the sun started to set, both went into their rooms, Marcus thinking about the future and the possibilities it might hold, Holly thinking about how she would have to finally confront her feelings for Marcus, whatever they may be.


	14. Chapter 14

Ch. 14

Living with Holly was a lot harder than Marcus had expected. First of all, she was a slob. Although he wasn't the cleanest person either, he couldn't stand how the girl left her skimpy clothes all over the apartment. He had opened a drawer to get a fork, and a large, bright green bra had stared back at them. When he confronted her about it, she had only called him a pervert and snatched the material out of his hands.

Holly also stayed in the bathroom for what felt like hours. Marcus often had to bang on the door, yelling at her that he had to use the restroom. More often than not, he ended up going downstairs to the bakery and using their restroom.

But the thing that made sharing an apartment with the girl the hardest was her stripping habit that she had gotten from her father. Marcus would be reading a book or eating breakfast, and Holly would be walking around naked. Whenever he pointed it out to her, she would simply brush it off and call him a pervert for looking. Seeing her walk around the apartment, showing off every inch of skin, did not help with Marcus' confusion about his feelings for her. Marcus couldn't deny that she was beautiful, no matter how hard he tried. Seeing her naked body made him still feel uncomfortable.

When Natsu and Grey had first heard that their children were roommates, the two went berserk.

"No way your son his sleeping in the same room as my daughter!" Grey insisted.

"As if my son has such terrible taste." Natsu retorted.

"Dad, please, it's not a big deal. Besides, we signed the contracts already," Marcus said between insults.

"Ya. It's fine." Marcus was surprised Holly had agreed with him. He couldn't help but notice her cheeks were a little flushed. I wonder if she has a fever? Marcus thought.

"Natsu, Grey, calm down. They're adults. They can make their own decisions. Instead of yelling at them, we should be throwing them a house warming party!" It was Erza who had spoken up now. The requip mage looked excited as she began planning the party in her head.

Despite Marcus and Hollys protests, Erza went ahead and invited half the guild to the apartment, where a huge party was thrown. Natsu and Grey were the only mages to decline the invitation. Even Happy showed up, bringing them a gift of fish. Late into the night, as people started getting drunker and drunker, jokes were thrown out about the two.

"So, who's room do you sleep in most nights?" a particularly plastered Cana asked?

"Marcus' obviously. Holly's bed is too small," Mira replied. "Unless the two liked to sleep close together all night."

Marcus couldn't help but blush. "Guys, come on. We're just…" he started to say friends, but even that was a stretch. They tolerated each other at best. "We're just roommates. Nothing more."

By then, Marcus and Holly's mothers had joined in on the conversation.

"Juvia! I just had a fantastic idea. Our kids are having trouble getting along. Let's send them on a job together!" Lucy stumbled a bit, holding on to Juvia for support.

"Juvia thinks that would be wonderful! We can find one tomorrow! But tonight, Juvia wants to find her husband." Juvia was tipsy as well. Holly joined the conversation when she heard their mothers' idea.

"Are you crazy? Living with him is bad enough. I don't want to work with him!"

"Too bad. What your mother says goes."

"Awwwww. It'll be so cute! And I have the perfect job for them in mind," Mira added. Marcus blushed a bit when he heard this. He looked over at Holly, expecting to see her filled with rage. Instead, she was looking down at her feet, her face covered with a tinge of red. She must not be feeling well, Marcus thought.

"It's settled then. Tomorrow, you go on your first job together!" The women all clinked their glasses together and cheered. Marcus looked at Holly helplessly. He was worried about what tomorrow might hold, but that didn't stop him from enjoying himself the rest of the night. He would deal with the ice mage tomorrow.

When the party was over, and Marcus and Holly had cleaned up after the last guests had left, they both sat in the living room staring at the fire place, which Marcus had lit with his golden flames. Marcus and Holly sat as far away from each other as they could get, which wasn't far. Holly was naked, but by then Marcus had gotten pretty used to it. He noticed that the golden flames lit her skin up, making her seem even more beautiful. Wow. She may just be the most beautiful women in Fairy Tail. No. In all of Magnolia. Marcus caught himself staring at her and checked himself. What am I talking about. I don't think that. She's my roommate, and she still hates me. I think it's time to hit the hay. Early day tomorrow.

As Marcus got up and left to his room without a word, Holly glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She let out a sigh of relief as she heard his door close. She went back to staring at the golden flames that filled the apartment with warmth. She could light the fire herself of course. But she liked when Marcus used his magic to do it. It seemed warmer and safer somehow, and made her feel like everything was going to be okay. She felt like the flames brought a new life into the small apartment. Maybe it's part of his phoenix magic, new life she thought.

She had felt Marcus' eyes on her before he had gone to bed. She was going to call him out on it, shaming him for being a pervert. Something had stopped her though. She didn't feel like he had been staring at her in a sexual way. Something about his gaze seemed caring, affectionate, rather than pervy. She actually enjoyed the feeling that he might genuinely care for her.

Plus, she had been staring at him earlier, though her motives had been much less pure. His hard, lean muscles had caught her attention, as the golden light danced across his body. Like most of the younger men in Fairy Tail, Marcus had extremely predominant abdominals and pectorals. His arms weren't huge and bulky, like Elfmans, but they weren't thin either. They looked strong, and she wondered what it would be like to have them wrapped around her, heating up her cool body, pulling her close to him.

Woah girl. Calm down. Do not think about that. This is Marcus. He's a Dragneel. He's weak. After she thought about it, she realized that she was wrong. Although Marcus had not seen her the day he fought his dad, he had been lurking in the forest next to the training ground. She hadn't wanted him to see her there. When he let loose his attack, Holly hadn't been able to get out of the way completely. Although her body had made it out fine, her clothes had been singed and had had holes burned into them. Marcus was one of the strongest wizards she knew, however much she hated to admit it.

With that last though, Holly used her magic to snuff out the flame, leaving the living room dark as the ice mage walked to her room. Glancing one last time at Marcus' closed door, Holly thought about what it would be like if the phoenix slayer were to open it back up and walk into her room, closing the door behind them. When Holly collapsed onto her bed, she immediately fell into a deep slumber, filled with dreams of Marcus, some that would leave even the sluttiest girls in Magnolia blushing.


	15. Chapter 15

Ch. 15

The next morning, the two mages went to the guild for their joint mission. Marcus kept looking over at Holly, who stared at the ground the entire time they had walk towards Fairy Tail. Her face is red again. Maybe she is still sick. Marcus reminded himself to ask her about it later. Today, Holly was wearing the same skirt she had been wearing when they had literally run into each other. When they finally made it to the guild, the pair was greeted with the usual sights and sounds that put both of them at ease. Ironically, the chaos of the guild was calming for many of the mages.

"There you two are! I have the job request right here!" Mira called from across the room. As they walked up to the bar, there were hoots and whistles coming from the rest of the guild. "It was made by a wealthy business man. Apparently, a group of thugs broke into his house and stole a very rare gem from him. Here you go! I already contacted the client to let him know you're coming. Now off you two love birds go," Mira said with her usual cheerfulness.

Before they could say goodbye to anyone, Mira had pushed them out the doors.

"Well, I guess we should head to the train station," Marcus said, considering their options.

"Don't you have motion sickness like your Dad and Gajeel?" Holly asked? She hadn't considered the possibility that his magic had the same drawback as the dragon slayers.

"No. Although I do get sea sick. Swimming isn't really something I enjoy either. Flaming birds and water don't mix well." Something about this confession made Holly laugh. Marcus realized that this was the first time she had seemed happy around him. Maybe she was slowly lowering her walls to him. "Well, let's go." And they headed off for the train station.

Holly hated Marcus. First, she'd had x-rated dreams about him for some reason. Then, he had made her laugh. Holly hated when she laughed. She thought it sounded like a vulcan's mating call. Stupid Marcus. Stupid Mira. Stupid Ice monkey laugh! When they finally boarded the train, Holly immediately fell asleep. After a rather restless nap filled with more dreams of Marcus, she was rudely awoken by the train whistle. When her eyes opened, Holly realized with a sudden horror that she had been sleeping curled up next to Marcus, who had been reading a book the entire time.

"Excuse me, miss? I believe this is you and your boyfriends stop," The attendant said as she came by their seat.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Holly shouted at the woman. This only made Marcus laugh. His laugh doesn't sound like an Ice monkeys, she thought. No, stop thinking about him like that! You hate Marcus. You've always hated Marcus. Holly was having a harder and harder time keeping her feelings in check. After getting off the train, the pair headed to the nearest hotel.

"Hello. You're from Fairy Tail, aren't you? I can tell by your clothing. The client you are working for has offered to pay for your lodgings. Unfortunately, it's the holiday season, and every room was booked, except for one. I hope you don't mind sharing," the hotel manager explained to the young wizards. Little did they know, Mira had actually bribed the manager into giving them only the one room.

"Ya. It's alright." It was Marcus who spoke up first.

"What do you mean, 'alright?'" Holly asked him?

"We're already roommates. We can share a bed for a few nights."

"Fine." Holly grumbled. "But you better not try anything funny, blue eyes." Marcus put up his hands in a sign of surrender. As the manager led them up to the room, Holly had to hold back a yawn. Although Mira had said that the town had been close, the train ride had taken up most of the day. It was getting really late, and all Holly could think about was a warm shower and a comfortable bed.


	16. Chapter 16

Ch. 16

Marcus had been a little worried about what Holly would do when she found out that the two would have to share a room. But the ice mage had handled it fairly well. They might just make it through the night. Holly had claimed the shower first, so Marcus sat on the bed, listening to her singing in the shower. This was another habit of hers, but one Marcus didn't mind. The girl's voice was beautiful, and Marcus often found himself listening outside the bathroom door while she was singing. The song she was singing now sounded like a love song.

When the song ended, Marcus heard the water turn off. When the door opened, a cloud of steam came out, through which Holly stepped. She was naked, of course, having forgotten about her clothes. Marcus stared at her, taking in every detail. He noticed her legs first. They were thin, curving as they got to her waist. His eyes moved up, towards her mid-section. Her hour glass figure was stunning, evidence of her hard training. He then sheepishly let his eyes move just a little bit higher, towards her chest. The way the water dripped down her large breasts caused him to blush greatly. Dragging his eyes away from the beautiful sight, he then took in her face. Her beauty was incredible. Her large, dark eyes seemed to look into his very soul. Her long blue hair was still damp, and it left a trail of water running down her back.

"What are you looking at?" Holly asked when she noticed Marcus staring.

"N-nothing. Ill go ahead and take my shower now." Marcus grabbed his towel and headed into the steam filled room. Although he normally took showers so hot that it would normally broil a normal person, Marcus decided that a cold shower was what he needed. Seeing Holly standing before him like that, drops of water still clinging to her skin, had left him confused. He hoped the cold would shock him back into reality. After the shower Marcus walked out and threw on his sweat pants while Holly was out in the hall way, getting a drink from the vending machine.

When it was finally time for bed, Marcus and Holly had awkwardly climbed into bed next to each other. It didn't help that the girl had refused to put clothes on.

"You don't sleep in a shirt. Why should I?" Marcus didn't bother pointing out that he at least wore pants. After sitting in silence for a few minutes, he eventually heard Holly's breathing even out, signaling that she was finally asleep. Marcus let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried that something would piss Holly off, causing a scene and robbing him of much of his sleep. Marcus felt himself drifting off into sleep, when suddenly, Holly turned over in her sleep, facing Marcus. Her arms and legs wrapped around him, gripping him tight. Marcus lost all thought of sleep. Holly pulled herself closer to Marcus. He felt her cold skin against his. Her head was resting on his chest, her breath sending goose bumps across his skin.

"Mmmmm. So warm," Holly mumbled in her sleep. Marcus thought about trying to wiggle his way out of her embrace, but figured that trying to do so would wake her, further pissing off the already frustrated girl. Instead, he chose to lay there, letting her cuddle up against him. He even made his body a little bit warmer, since Holly was obviously cold. Instead of sleeping, Marcus stayed awake most of the night, listening to the girl beside him mumbling in her sleep. He only understood portions of what she said, but he swore he heard her say his name a couple of times, each time gripping him tighter and tighter. Finally, sleep over whelmed Marcus, and he too drifted off into the dream world.


	17. Chapter 17

Ch. 17

Holly woke up feeling very well rested, and excited for a new day. Her positive feelings suddenly turned sour when she saw that she was wrapped around Marcus like that jacket he always wore. Before Holly could unwind herself, Marcus had woken up. When he looked at her, clinging to him, he burst out laughing. All Holly could do was put on an angry face and walk into the bathroom to start getting ready for the job.

When Holly and Marcus had made it to the clients house, they were greeted by a butler.

"I'm sorry, but the master is not home. I have been left with instructions to tell you where the criminals who took the gem are hiding out. The master asks that you take the prize back from them, and you will be handsomely rewarded." As the butler went on about the details of where the thugs were, Holly drifted away from the conversation. She wandered around the building, admiring the huge portraits of what appeared to be the family members, generation by generation. Something about the pictures was strange, but the girl couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Holly, I've got the location, let's go," Marcus called to her. As she left the paintings, she started to feel the adrenaline pumping. It was time to get to work. Nothing got Holly more excited than the idea of beating up a bunch of thugs. Plus, I'll get to see more of Marcus' power.

The gang had been hiding out in an abandoned military base just outside town. As Holly and Marcus crept towards the stone building, the mages began looking out for traps or even a guard. Seeing no such thing, the pair stood on either side of the door.

"I'll go first, icing the floor. Then you follow up," Holly whispered to Marcus. He nodded. The ice mage readied herself, feeling her magic flow through her. She saw Marcus concentrating, his body surrounded by a thin aura of golden fire. He gave her a nod. Holly kicked the door down, prepared to take out whoever stood on the other side.

When she burst into the room, she saw about 10 men and woman sitting around a circular table, playing cards. Surprised by the sudden intruder, half of the thugs fell out of their chairs trying to get up. The other half drew knives and swords.

"Ice make floor!" Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet turned to ice. The thugs looked surprised, and had trouble moving around, but a few of them managed to move towards Holly. Marcus then burst into the room, his fists covered in his fire.

"Fire phoenix claw!" Marcus lashed out at one of the men advancing towards Holly. The man fell to the floor, unconscious from one hit. Holly blasted two more of the villains, putting them out of fighting condition. Holly and Marcus moved together, blasting their targets with magic. Fire and Ice swirled together. The fight was over in less than a minute.

"That was easy," Marcus said as he dissipated his flames. Holly agreed. As she looked around, though, there appeared to be no sign of the gem they were searching for. The only furniture in the room had been the table and the chairs, which were almost all destroyed.

"Something's not right here. Maybe we missed something," Holly said. Suddenly, she felt herself falling towards the ground. She couldn't move! Something, or someone, had attacked her.

Marcus spun around as he heard Holly hit the floor with a thud. Standing in the door was a woman. She had black hair that matched her eyes. Her skin was tan. She wore a long, blue dress the same shade as Holly's hair. Around her neck was a purple gem that was glowing.

"Well, looks like you found us. Good thing I just acquired this particular piece of jewelry," the woman said, smiling at Holly, who was still on the ground, unmoving.

"Who are you? What did you do to Holly?" Marcus yelled, his body igniting in flames once again.

"I am Joanne, the Lady of the Lake. As for your girlfriend here, that particular attack came from this fine necklace, which I'm guessing is the reason you're here. You see, this gem has the ability to paralyze anyone the caster wishes. It takes an hour to recharge, but it won't matter, because I'll take care you the both of you before I need it again." Suddenly, the woman melted into a puddle of water, which absorbed Holly, and began carrying her down a hill.


	18. Chapter 18

Ch. 18

Marcus followed them all the way to a lake that was just a little ways away from the fortress. The lake woman left Holly on the side of the lake, and melted with the rest of the water. As Marcus watched, a fountain of water rose up out of the middle of the lake. The top half became the torso of the woman who had kidnapped Holly.

"There's no way you can beat me here. I am at my most powerful in the lake. You need this necklace in order to un-paralyze your friend. Try and take it!" Joanne taunted the phoenix slayer. Marcus considered his options. Holly was unconscious, lying still on the bank. Marcus' flames would be weak against the water, but he had to save Holly.

"Give me that gem you stupid bitch!" Marcus leapt at the woman, trying to wrap her up in a tackle. He went right through her body, landing on the other shore. "Fire phoenix claw!" Marcus tried punching her, but his flames were immediately extinguished. Joanne summoned a water spout that gripped Marcus' leg, throwing him to shore.

"Fire Phoenix Shriek!" A wall of golden flames rushed towards the lake woman. Just before they reached her, the flames were met with a wave of water, immediately stopping the attack. But the wave kept moving in the direction the flames had come. They hit Marcus' with incredible force, knocking him to the ground. Marcus saw Holly get hit with the wave as well. He panicked as he saw her roll into the lake.

A burning rage filled Marcus. As the water kept pounding him against the ground, he kept summoning flames. He thought about Holly, sinking to the bottom of the water, unable to move. The thought of her being helpless drove Marcus to the edge. Suddenly, the water was gone. He could stand up again. His entire body was shrouded with golden flames. Joanne saw this and tried to extinguish his power. When the water got anywhere close to his body, though, it evaporated in a cloud of steam.

"What is this? Your flames are so hot, it boils the water before it can even touch you! How is this possible!" Joanne cried out. She kept launching wave after wave at Marcus, but his fire kept nullifying her attacks.

"You hurt my friend." Marcus' voice took on a steely tone. He felt his control over his power slipping away, but didn't try to stop it. "She's my friend. She's a Fairy Tail wizard. And so am I. We're a family lady, with bonds stronger than the hardest steel. I made a promise when I became a Fairy Tail wizard to protect my family from harm. And you," Marcus began slowly walking towards Joanne, burning the grass where he stepped, and turning her attacks into steam. "You hurt her. She was defenseless, paralyzed and unconscious. And you still attacked her. Nobody hurts my family! I'll destroy anyone who hurts Fairy Tail!" Marcus was shouting now. Joanne had given up on her attacks. She was paralyzed from fear, unable to run away from the young wizards walking towards her right now. Marcus stepped into the lake, boiling away the water where he stood, so that he was in the center of a completely dry circle.

"I held back my power all this time, afraid I would hurt someone, or destroy something irreplaceable. But you hurt my family, and I'm going to hurt you. Nobody messes with Fairy Tail! Fire Phoenix Raging Inferno!" Marcus launched a spiral of golden fire, so intense and so powerful that the water it passed over turned to steam immediately. Joanne didn't even have time to block the attack or move out of the way. The blast from the flames ripped her from the lake, carrying her to the bank behind her. The lady of the lake landed in an unconscious heap.

Before he even thought about getting the necklace from his defeated opponent, Marcus dove into the water, allowing his flames to dissipate. He swan down until he found Holly, laying at the bottom, still unconscious. Marcus grabbed her and brought her to the surface. He began preforming mouth to mouth, desperate to get the girl breathing again. After what seemed like an eternity, Holly began coughing up water. Thank Mavis she's breathing. After making sure that all the water had exited her lungs, Marcus ran over towards Joanne, and ripped the necklace from around the unconscious woman's neck.

Marcus wasn't sure how the necklace worked, but somehow it sensed what he wanted to do. It glowed purple once again, and after a flash of light, Holly began to move. She was still unconscious, but her legs began kicking, like she was having a bad nightmare. Marcus picked her up and began walking back towards the hotel, with the necklace in his pocket.


	19. Chapter 19

Ch. 19

Holly woke up in the bed in the hotel she shared with Marcus. She noticed that she was naked underneath the covers, but didn't think much of it. Marcus sat at the foot of the bed, staring at her.

"Hey. You're awake. How are you feeling?" Marcus asked, his voice full of concern.

"I'm okay. What happened? I remember the woman bursting into the room, but after that, I have nothing." Holly lied. She faintly remembered hearing Marcus yelling while she was at the bottom of the lake. Then she had watched as a path of gold cut through the water. It had been so bright, Holly had blacked out again. But she didn't want to make Marcus feel bad for knocking her unconscious.

"Well, you fell into the lake, and I fought with Joanne. After I defeated her, I had to swim down and get you from the bottom. You weren't breathing, so I gave you mouth to mouth. Sorry." Marcus said it like it was a bad thing that he had saved her. She laughed at his stupidity.

"Thank you, Marcus. You risked your life for me. And you swam for me. I know how much you hate swimming." Holly said, in a soft voice.

"Of course I saved you. I know we haven't always gotten along very well, but we're still guild mates. I'd risk my life to save yours in a heartbeat." Marcus blushed. "You'd better get some sleep. You had a rough day." Marcus moved to tuck her back into bed, but when he was reaching over her, Holly gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you," Holly repeated, in almost a whisper. Marcus' face turned a deep shade of red, so bright it could rival even Erza's hair. Holly suddenly realized that she was naked. "How did I get out of my clothes? Did you do this?" She said with more embarrassment than anger.

"When I un-paralyzed you, I carried you back to the hotel. When we finally got her, you kept mumbling in your sleep about how your clothes were stupid. Then you kind of took them off on your own," Marcus replied. Stupid stripping habit, Holly thought.

"I don't need any more sleep. Let's do something tonight. We can return the necklace tomorrow," Holly said as she realized it was around Marcus' neck. "There's a local festival this week. That's the reason the hotel was so full. We, could, um, go if you wanted. Together," Holly stammered out. With everything that had happened, her feelings began to become clearer to her. She didn't even try to suppress them or ignore them.

"Are you sure you're feeling well enough to go? Because we could stay here until you're better."

"I'm sure."

"Okay. It sounds like fun," Marcus said as he smiled. Holly's heart melted at the sight of his perfect smile.

"I- um- I'm going to take a shower. Give me a few minutes, then let's go." Holly stammered, trying not to blush as she stood up and walked to the bathroom. As she got in the shower, she couldn't help but smile as big as Marcus had. She was going on a date with the phoenix slayer who had saved her life.


	20. Chapter 20

Ch. 20

Marcus and Holly walked around the festival grounds for a few hours, checking out the local entertainment and games. There was food, puppet shows, and a lot of other fun looking things that the two saw as they walked around. There was even that one game with the hammer, where the person tries to see if they can ring the bell when hitting a lever. After watching a hand full of very strong looking men come close, but not quite close enough to the bell, Holly stepped up to give it a try.

"Careful darling. Don't hurt yourself," one of the men said as he watched her drop the hammer, which she was obviously doing to humor them. Marcus could hardly contain his laugher as he watched her mock struggle. He knew as well as anyone that Holly had incredible physical strength that would put most men to shame. When she brought the hammer down on the lever, it sent the metal slider up at such speed that it tore the bell off the top of the game. Holly and Marcus grabbed each other's hands as they ran away, laughing as the game master yelled at them that they would pay for the broken game.

Finally stopping when they figured they had lost the angry man, they sat down on a bench, still laughing at the man chasing after them. Finally, Marcus noticed that their hands were still intertwined. When Holly made no move to let go, he felt happier than he had in a long time.

"Wow. It's really cold tonight. I should have packed warmer," Holly said as she began to shiver. She was wearing one of her skirts and a shirt that did little to keep her warm. Marcus took off his jacket without thinking and wrapped it around her shoulders. Holly stiffened at bit at the action, and Marcus was worried he'd made the wrong move. After a second of hesitation, though, Holly sighed and rested her head against her date's shoulder. Marcus had forgotten that Holly was an ice mage, therefore she was basically immune to the cold. Wow he's stupid.

"Hey Marcus?" Holly asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why do we hate each other?"

"I don't think we hate each other. Not any more at least. Although I think it has something to do with me running into you and ruining your skirt the day I came back from the forest," Marcus answered.

"That was my favorite skirt," Holly replied, remembering how cute it looked on her. "But even before that, when we were kids. Before you.." Holly hesitated.

"Before I disappeared. You don't have to be shy about it. I'm happy it happened. Ignatius was a great teacher." Marcus replied. Though he rarely talked about his time when he was missing, and even rarer he talked about his teacher, he had no problem when other people talked about it.

"Ya, before you disappeared. Even then we didn't get along. Maybe it was our dads. I know that they're rivals and are always arguing, but that's just in their nature. They're actually best friends. Have you seen any of their wedding pictures? They were each other's best man. They're always going on jobs together. Why can't we be like that?" Holly asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I don't know how I feel about you. Ever since we were little, I felt really strongly about you. I just couldn't decide whether those feelings were positive or negative," Marcus replied.

"I know what you mean. I thought I hated you because you were weak. But you're not anymore. You're one of the strongest wizards I know, if not the strongest. I think you could give Makarov a run for his money. And who knows what other powers you get from being a phoenix slayer. Maybe there's something like the dragon force that you just have to unlock. When you do, you could very well be unstoppable." Marcus was shocked by Holly's confidence in him. He thought about it for a minute. He then made up his mind that he was going to find Ignatius again, and see the other phoenixes. He would become even stronger. He would become stronger for the guild. For his family. For Holly.

"What do you think our dad's would say if they could see us now?" Holly said interrupting his train of thought.

"They'd probably start fighting with each other. Your dad would be calling mine an over-sized lizard, while my dad would be calling yours an exhibitionist" Marcus said, eliciting a laugh from Holly.

"You want to do something fun?" Holly asked.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Follow me."


	21. Chapter 21

Ch. 21

Marcus followed Holly as she led him through the town, until they came to a large building. Holly let go of his hand as they made it to a locked door near the back of the large, elaborate building. When Marcus stepped through the door, which Holly had unlocked using her ice magic, he was overwhelmed by all the bright colors. Feathers, sequins, and different fabrics stood out to him in the darkness.

"What is this place?" Marcus asked, spitting out a feather that had drifted into his mouth.

"It's a theater. This must be the costume storage room. I saw it on our way into town, and heard that there would be a play tonight titled Saviors of Earth Land. It's about our parents, during the whole Future Rogue crisis. I thought it would be fun to watch it from back stage," Holly replied. Marcus nodded. Everyone had heard the story about how the wizards from Fairy Tail and the other guilds had saved the world numerous times. Many songs had been written, but Marcus had never heard of any plays.

"How do I look Marcus?" the phoenix slayer heard behind him. He turned around and saw Holly. But she had changed from her normal clothes into a bright red dress that showed off her figure. It had a long slit in the side where the girl's leg stuck out. The neck line did a good job of showing off Holly's large breasts, causing Marcus to blush. Around her neck, the ice mage wore a pink boa, and held aloft a matching feathery fan. Holly fanned herself and gave Marcus her best attempt at a seductive eye bat, instead looking like she was trying to get dust out of her eye. She started cracking up when she realized how stupid she must look. Marcus, however, started feeling light headed, suddenly unaware of anything else in the room but Holly.

"You feeling okay, blue eyes?" Holly asked, seeing him suddenly freeze up.

"Ya. I'm fine."

"Well, I found a costume for you too. Try it on," Holly said.

Marcus took off his jacket and hoodie, then blushed. Holly realized why he was blushing and averted her gaze, suddenly aware that she had been the one staring this time. When Marcus finally finished putting his new clothing on, he looked in a mirror. He wore a black vest with orange trim over his bare torso. His jeans had been exchanged for baggy white pants, which were held up with a simple brown belt. Something about the attire seemed very familiar, and it wasn't until he felt Holly tie something around his neck that he realized what he was wearing.

"Holly, where did you find this?" Marcus asked, shocked to be wearing his dad's old style of clothing.

"It must be for the play," Holly replied, trying her hardest not to reach out and touch Marcus' exposed chest. Natsu, ever since having kids, had changed his attire a bit. He dressed in simple pats and t-shirts now, although his scarf from Igneel was still perpetually tied around his neck. Marcus now had a copy wrapped around his own neck, which appeared crooked.

"Here, let me fix that for you," Holly stepped up and began messing with the scarf around Marcus' neck. The scent from the girl's hair filled Marcus' nose as he looked down at her. Marcus thought he smelled a hint of pine, a scent very familiar to him after spending 6 years in the forest. The girl looked up at him every once in a while, smiling as she did so. What's taking her so long? How hard is it to tie a scarf? Marcus thought as she fumbled with the white fabric. He didn't mind though. He like the way her hands felt against his skin, the way her body pressed against his as she stood on the toes, trying to stay level with his neck.

Suddenly, the girl stopped, and let out a little squeak. Marcus then realized that he had pulled Holly into a tight embrace, wrapping his arms around her, pinning her to him. He tried to let go, but found that his body didn't want to respond to his brain. The girl caught in Marcus' strong embrace had become stiff as a board when she felt his hands on her, but then started to relax, enjoying the feeling. She even let her own hands drift around his waist. Her head suddenly became very heavy and fell against her captor's hard chest. His warmth spread throughout her body, lulling her into a trance.

The two stood there like this, intertwined, for a solid 5 minutes. When Marcus tried to break off the hug, feeling he couldn't handle it anymore, he tripped over Holly's boa, which had fallen to the floor. Still partially holding on to the girl, he brought her tumbling down along with him. When the feathers had settled, Marcus looked up at Holly, who had landed on top of him.

The two just stared at each other, not knowing what to do. Marcus reflected on how beautiful Holly looked, with her blue hair cascading down around her, forming a curtain that enclosed the pair's heads. Then Marcus stared into her eyes, dark as storm clouds, and filled with the same intensity. While his gaze took in every detail of her face, Marcus only felt two things; the pain in his back from the fall, and his entire body tingling as he realized that he was in love with Holly Fullbuster.


	22. Chapter 22

Ch. 22

Dammit Marcus! Why do you have to be so clumsy? Holly found herself laying on top of the phoenix slayer, her arms on either side of his head. Why does he have that stupid look on his face, like someone just gave him a new puppy and is too shocked to do anything? And what's with his eyes? Why do they have to be so blue, so perfect, so big? It's like they can see into my very soul. And his stupid hair, all curly and thick. I just want to run my hands through it. Worst of all, it's golden, like his stupid flames, those warm, comforting, powerful flames. Holly kept cursing Marcus for being so perfect, all the while, staring into his eyes.

She could feel his arms wrapped around her still. She had been shocked when she had felt them around her, but then had begun to enjoy it. Marcus would probably die of laughter if he heard about how often she had thought about that. Holly let herself relax a little bit. As she slumped against his body, which was still on the floor, she felt his heat, once again filling her with warmth.

Then, Holly saw something in Marcus' eyes. She watched as those blue eyes that had so often captivated her attention suddenly flew open wide, as if the boy beneath her had suddenly discovered the secrets of the Universe. Something about his reaction caused Holly to start feeling a twist in her gut. Marcus was so many things to her in that moment. Her roommate. Her guild mate. Her partner. Her rival. Her savior. Her friend.

Those last two hit Holly the hardest. Marcus was her hero. When her life had been in danger, when she had almost been drowned, he had saved her, like some golden angel. Holly had been remembering more and more about what had taken place. She remembered Marcus yelling at the lake woman, and although Holly hadn't been able to make out the words, his voice had filled her with hope. Marcus was also her friend. They never got along very well back home, but even so, there had been times when the two had their moments. Like when they huddled around their fire place, or when a guild brawl broke out, the two had each-others backs.

Maybe I want him to be more of a friend though. As soon as Holly found herself thinking this, she realized how true it was. She loved Marcus, and everything about him. She did not deserve a guy like him. The way his smile lit up the room, his stupid blue eyes that looked like blue marbles, his strength, his caring nature, even that jacket that had smelled of him, all these things made her love the blonde beneath her. Why had she been such a jerk to him? What if he didn't like her?

These worries that ran through her head suddenly came to a halt when she felt his arms wrap around her. Marcus pulled her tighter to him, bringing their face's so close that their noses almost touched. Holly felt his heart beat faster, and his breathing quickened. Holly knew in that instant that she hadn't lost Marcus. He felt the same way she did. The ice mage felt her own heart beat becoming faster and faster.

Holly closed her eyes, and slowly moved her face closer to Marcus'. Their noses brushed against each other lightly, sending shivers down the girl's body, a feeling she was very unaccustomed to, being an ice wizard. Suddenly, their lips came together. At first, the kiss was tentative, barely more than their lips touching. Holly couldn't stand it any longer, and began genuinely kissing the boy beneath her. She leaned into him more, running her fingers through his hair. He too fell into the kiss, gripping her tight, running his hands down her back.

When they came up for air, the pair just stared at each other for a minute, taking in what had just happened.

"Holly, I-"

"Where have you two been? And what are you doing lying on the floor? Come here, let me fix you up. They play is about to start!" Holly and Marcus quickly got up off the ground, and looked to see who had just interrupted them. It was a short old man, wearing a very vibrant multi colored suit. He grabbed them by the hand and led the couple down a hallway, talking as he went. Holly and Marcus just looked at each other, laughed, and let themselves be swept up by the man.


	23. Chapter 23

Ch. 22

"Romeo, what happened to your hair? I thought I changed it earlier! Well, I'll just have to do it again. Hold still." The strange man snapped his fingers, and suddenly Marcus' hair was pink, just like his fathers. "And you, Ruby, you're completely out of costume. You had better change quickly. Here, put this on." The man pulled a dress off of a mannequin and tossed it to Holly. Holly quickly stripped out of her dress and put on the one this man had given her, not bothering to find somewhere private to change. Marcus did avert his eyes though. Something about seeing Holly like that now seemed awkward to him.

"Um, sir?" Holly asked. "Remind us, who are we supposed to be?"

The man sighed loudly. "Ruby, I don't have time for your jokes. Your scene is almost up. If you must know, Romeo is Natsu, and you are Juvia, and you are about to defeat Zeref. Happy? Okay. You're on stage in 3," Marcus and Holly looked at each other, not knowing what to do. "2, 1. Go, go go." They had reached a curtain. Looking behind it, Marcus saw a wooden stage, with a bunch of props and actors moving around on stage.

With a push, the short man force Marcus and Holly out into the open. Looking out, Marcus couldn't see anything, blinded by the lights aimed at the stage. Around him, actors were going about their roles. He saw one man with dark blue hair and a cross necklace wearing only a pair of pants. Obviously this man was meant to be Grey Fullbuster, Holly's dad. There were also two women, one blonde and another red head. Marcus assumed they were his mom, Lucy, and Erza Scarlet. The three actors where standing around another, with black hair and strange robes. He had a book in his hand, and was chanting. This must be Zeref, with his book of E.N.D.

"Aw, finally. Natsu and Juvia have come! Now we're saved! Go Natsu!" the Lucy-Actor called out. Marcus had no idea what he was going. Already he saw tons of issues with the scene. There were no dragons, and a lot of people were missing, but Marcus went along with it as best as he could think of.

"Hey guys. I'm-uh- all fired up!" Marcus flexed his arms, trying to look tough.

"Oh Grey! Juvia is here!" Holly called from behind next to him. It was a pretty spot on imitation of her mother. He couldn't help but chuckle. The other actors just kind of looked at each other, probably wondering why these new people were going off script.

"Juvia, you should, you know, hit Zeref with a water attack," the Erza imposter said.

"Yeah, water spout attack," Holly said, raising her hand. Somewhere above them, a bucket of water must have been dropped, because Zeref was suddenly soaked.

"Now Natsu!" Lucy said, bouncing up and down. The actors tight fitting clothing made Marcus feel really awkward. Why did his mom have to have dressed so immodestly? "Hit him with a fire dragons roar!"

"Okay. Sure. Ready Zeref? Fire Dragons Roar!" Marcus yelled. Golden flames shot from his body, an accident. The stage caught fire, along with the curtains. "Oh, oops. Sorry." Suddenly, two actors appeared on stage, dressed identically to Marcus and Holly. They must be the real Romeo and Ruby, Marcus thought. "Hey Holly, I think we should get out of here.

"Definitely."


	24. Chapter 24

Ch. 23

Holly and Marcus ran from the stage, past the screaming man I the bright clothes, and into the costume room. Grabbing their original clothing, the pair pushed through the door and into open air. Marcus and Holly ran all the way back to their hotel room, still wearing the costumes from the play.

"Whew, that was… interesting," Marcus said when they made it back into the room, door closed firmly behind them. Slowly, Marcus' hair began to change, from pink back to blonde, a change Holly was thankful for. She liked this golden hair. Holly laid down on the bed, laughing, still giddy from the experience.

"Natsu Dragneel, that was some quality acting back there," she said. "I, Juvia Lockser, cannot wait to see the sequel. Will there be romance in the next play?" Holly asked, batting her eyes a bit.

Marcus laughed. "Possibly. I don't know how the other characters are going to react to it though."

Holly patted the bed next to her. "Well, Mr. Dragneel, maybe you should find out." Marcus sat down next to Holly, who was looking up at him with wide eyes, her lips slightly parted. Slowly, he reached out for her, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Their faces were now only a few inches apart from each other, bodies pressed tightly together.

"Holly, I-" Marcus started, but was unable to finish his sentence, because he found Holly's lips pressed against his. The kiss wasn't slow, like their first one. Instead it was urgent, needy, and full of passion and lust. Their kiss lasted a long time, but eventually the pair fell back onto the bed, tired after the long day.

"What do you think our dads are going to say about this?" Holly asked, her head resting against Marcus' chest.

"They'll probably fight about it, break something, then get yelled at by Erza. Then our moms will come in and settle them down, only for those two maniacs to start fighting later."

"Sounds about right. I'm really happy though. I'm happy you came back from the forest. I'm happy we're roommates. I'm happy you're here," Holly said, closing her eyes, adjusting herself so she's more comfortable against Marcus.

"I love you Holly," Marcus said, holding her closer.

"I love you too Marcus."

The next morning, Marcus woke up, but Holly wasn't next to him. Worried that something had happened to her, he got out of bed and searched to room. Not finding anything, Marcus was about to look in the hallway when he heard singing coming from the bathroom. She must be in the shower. To think I worried for nothing, Marcus thought to himself. Marcus realized that he was still wearing the costume from last night, but didn't bother changing out of it. Finally, the singing stopped, and Marcus waited for Holly to get out of the shower.

Then a loud crashing sound came through the door. Marcus rushed to open it, but it was locked. "Holly, are you okay?!" he called. When no answer came, Marcus readied himself. "Holly, if you can hear me, stay away from the door. I'm going to break it down. Ready?" Marcus punched the door, his tremendous strength blowing it off its hinges. Pushing past the splintered wood, Marcus saw Holly, sprawled in the bathtub connected to the shower, with the curtain laying on the ground. That's what must have made the crashing sound, Marcus assumed.

"Marcus, what the heck?" Holly said, when she saw him standing there.

"Wha- Are you okay? Why didn't you answer me when I asked what happened?" Holly stepped out of the bath, but stumbled, forcing Marcus to catch her.

"Ow. I think I hurt my ankle. For Mavis' sake Marcus I walk around our apartment naked half the time. You can stop covering your eyes." Holly had realized that Marcus was indeed closing his eyes, embarrassed that he was holding the naked girl. "Just help me out of the bathroom. I'll my foot looked at when we get back to the guild."

Marcus, not trusting her ankle, carried Holly out of the bathroom bridal style. Holly didn't argue, enjoying how he held her. After getting dressed and fixing up the room as best as they could, Marcus carried Holly out of the hotel on his back. Thankfully, the client's house was on the way to the train station. Seeing that the girl was injured, the client doubled the reward. Apparently, he was so filthy rich that it didn't even bother him. Holly had tried milking it, attempting to get the man to pay more, but Marcus interrupted.

By the time they got to the train, Holly's foot was hurting really bad, so again Marcus had to carry her to their seats, causing a lot of other passengers to ooh and aww.

"So romantic."

"Why can't my boyfriend be like him?"

"Damn, she's so lucky." Holly blushed, but Marcus didn't seem bothered by the comments. He's so stupid, Holly thought. He could have any girl in the world. With that thought, the train took off, forcing Holly to collapse on top of Marcus. If he's going to be so stupid, then I'm going to make him hold he this entire trip. That will show him, the girl told herself. And she did. For the next few hours, they stayed like that, curled up on one seat in the back of the train, all the way to Magnolia.


	25. Chapter 25

Ch. 24

Marcus and Holly decided to stop by the guild before they went back to their apartment. After getting off the train, Holly had insisted that she walk on her own. Marcus, not wanting to piss the girl off, simply let her use him as a crutch. When they finally made it to the door of the guild, Marcus looked down at her.

"Are you ready? Once we walk through that door, there is no telling what's going to happen."

Holly swallowed a bit, preparing herself for what was to come. "I'm ready. Mavis help us." She reached down and grabbed Marcus' hand. He squeezed her hand, trying to let her know that he was there for her. With that, they pushed open the door, and walked into the guild hall. What happened next reminded Marcus of the scene when he had returned home after his 6 year absence. People were lined up around the door, straining to get a view of the returning mages.

Holly had panicked and tried to run away, but Marcus was frozen stiff, his fingers locked around hers, forcing the girl to stay.

"H-hi guys. We're, um, back," she stuttered, suddenly aware that people were staring at their locked hands. "Mission accomplished. Day saved. You know what, I think Marcus is tired after our long trip home. Maybe we should just leave." Holly tried dragging Marcus away, but he was too heavy and still too nervous to move.

"Oh no you don't!" someone called out. It was Mary. "So, why are you guys holding hands? Hmm?" Well, straight to the point eh? Holly thought. As soon as the girl had pointed it out, Holly became just as frozen as Marcus.

"They're dating!" a voice from the crowd called.

"You mean they weren't before?" another asked.

"Marcus my boy, good job!" someone else said. To Holly it sounded suspiciously like master Makarov. Finally, the pair became unfrozen, and started awkwardly making their way through the crowd, still holding hands. Making to the bar, they were greeted by Mira.

"Ooh I'm so happy for you two. I knew it would work out between you guys! Speaking of which…" Mira walked out from behind the bar and held out a barrel. "Okay everybody! Time to cash in the bets," All around the guild hall there were exchanges of money.

"Wait, you mean people were betting on us?!" Marcus asked the bartender.

"Of course silly. When your parents were teenagers, people made bets all the time as to whether couples would end up together. It was a very lucrative business. Ever since Romeo and Wendy made it official, there hasn't been a good bet. Then Marcus returned and the whole thing started up again! Isn't it just wonderful?" Mira's barrel was now overflowing with cash. Obviously, she had made a very good bet.

"It's a little creepy if you ask me," Holly muttered. Marcus couldn't help but agree.

Suddenly, Marcus' grip around Holly's hand grew much tighter. His face had a look of absolute terror on it. He looked very pail, like he was going to be sick. Somehow, Holly realized why Marcus was so worried. There were two people missing from the guild hall.

"Hey Mira, where are our-" A large chunk of wood came flying out of nowhere, hitting Marcus square in the face, knocking him to the floor.

"YOU BASTARD!" a voice shouted at the entrance to the guild. Grey Fullbuster was standing there, broken pieces of door at his feet, a giant Ice hammer in his hands. "Where is he? Where's the dead man? When I find him, I'm going to put him on a spit and roast him like the poultry he is!" Holly assumed her father was referring to Marcus.

"Hello Grey!" Mira called happily. "Your daughter just returned home from her job."

"Thanks a lot Mira! Now my dad is going to murder my new boyfriend."

"Boy wha?" Marcus asked, still dazed from getting hit. Another piece of wood came flying out of nowhere, once again hitting Marcus, leaving a large bump on his head.

"Dear Mavis NOOOOOOOOO! Tell me it isn't true. My son has been kidnapped and replaced with a crazy person!" It was Natsu shouting now, the other door now destroyed. At the same time, Grey and Natsu spotted Holly still holding hands with a barely conscious Marcus, and came rushing over. Grey picked Marcus up off the floor by his jacket collar.

"I'm going to murder you, YOU HEAR THAT? Nobody dates my daughter and gets away with it!"

"Dad stop!"

"Do it Grey. Kill the imposter. But slowly, so that he tells us what he did to the real Marcus," Natsu said, a creepy look on his face.

"Natsu, I'm sure that's the real Marcus. Stop acting silly," Mira giggled, as though there wasn't about to be an unspeakable crime right in front of her. Marcus seemed to recover a bit from getting hit and managed to speak.

"Dad, it's really me. Mr. Fullbuster, please, let's talk about this. Could you please put me down?" Grey slowly set Marcus back on his feet, though the murderous look didn't leave his face.

"Dad, stop right now," Holly demanded. "You are not going to kill him. I'm a grown woman, I can date whoever I want, even if it is a Dragneel."

"Hey!" Natsu cried out.

"This punk didn't even ask for my blessing to date you though, my little ice princess," Grey said.

"Oh, okay. Mr. Fullbuster, may I please date your daughter?"

"No."

"DAD!" Then, Natsu's and Grey's faces both went very pail, like Marcus' had been.

"Hey, uh, Natsu? Have you seen our wives anywhere?"

"No he hasn't," a female voice said from the other side of the room. "But it looks like we came just in time to beat some sense into you two. Holly looked to where the voice came from, and saw her mother and Lucy, both with very, very angry expressions.

"I'm sorry Grey. I didn't want to die this way," Natsu said, hugging the ice mage.

"Me too buddy. Now we're really in for it."


	26. Chapter 26

Ch. 25

"NATSU! GREY! Just what do you think you're doing?" Lucy yelled as she stomped her way through the guild hall, Juvia right on her tail.

"Please, don't hurt me!" Grey begged. "I was only trying to protect my little princess." Natsu started laughing at the man currently on his knees. Lucy glared at her husband, shutting him up.

"Natsu, what do you have to say for yourself?" The dragon slayer knelt next to Grey out of fear.

"Marcus doesn't know how the world works. He was gone for so long. I didn't want him to be taken advantage of. Please don't hurt me!"

"Best dad's ever," Holly grumbled. Marcus was laying on the floor, a dazed look on his face. Yet another chunk of wood had been violently introduced to his cranium. Holly picked him up and sat him back in his seat, though she still had to hold him steady.

"Juvia is very disappointed with her husband! Our daughter is a grown woman who makes her own choices. Juvia thinks she has chosen very well."

"Same goes for our son Natsu. I approve. And so do you." Lucy raised her foot, threatening a Lucy-Kick.

"Aye ma'am," Natsu whimpered.

"I like the pairing very much! We should have a party to celebrate!" a voice called from behind the group. Everyone turned to see Erza with a plate of cake in her hand. "Holly, Marcus, we are going to throw you the best party Fairy Tail has ever seen! I'll start planning it right away." Erza pulled a clip board out of nowhere and began writing on it, deep in thought. Oh no, Holly thought to herself. Not another party. At her side, Marcus sat up a bit, regaining his senses.

"Um, Holly, what just happened? Why are our dad's bowing?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

Later, the entire guild hall had been redecorated, filled with balloons and streamers. Barrels were flowing with booze, tables were crowded with food, and the entire atmosphere was jovial. Marcus never let Holly leave his side, his hand locked firmly around hers. The girl didn't mind though. She liked the feel of his fingers intertwined with her own. Plus, she needed all the support she could get. As the night went on and the alcohol flowed more and more, people started asking more and more perverted questions. Marcus didn't understand many of the innuendos, so he was straight up confused. Unfortunately for Holly, she did understand, and the red covering her face was equally due to the embarrassment and drinks she was chugging.

Eventually, Wendy and Romeo found the couple and started talking. Other than the twins and Marcus' siblings, the female dragon slayer and the fire mage were the closest people in age to Marcus and Holly. Wendy and Marcus had talked a lot when Marcus had first returned. He told her a lot about Ignatius, even stuff he hadn't told his parent's or the Masters about.

Holly had lost track of the conversation a while ago. Instead, she had been mesmerized by Marcus' jacket, watching the golden pattern ripple in the light. She was brought out of her chance when Wendy suddenly leapt across the table, her hand around Marcus' mouth. The party continued around them, nobody taking any notice of what had just happened.

"Wendy, are you alright? Why did you do that to poor Marcus just as he was asking you a question?" Romeo had stood up and pried the dragon slayers hand from Marcus' face. The Phoenix slayer still had his mouth open, like he had been frozen in the middle of a sentence. "Now that he can speak again, Marcus, what were you about to ask?"

"I was going to ask when the due date is."

"Aww! No," Wendy shouted, but it was too late. Both Holly and Romeo had heard the question, though neither understood it.

"Wendy! For the love of Mavis calm down. Why are you trying to stop Marcus?" Romeo looked very concerned now, holding the girl close to him. Holly still had no idea what was going on, and was about to ask Marcus when Wendy spoke up.

"I guess now is as good of a time as ever. Marcus, to answer your question, just over 8 months." By now, Holly had had enough of not knowing what is going on.

"Marcus, you are going to explain yourself or so help me I will break up with you," Holly threatened. The boy obviously got the message.

"Wendy, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize no one else knew." Holly could have sworn Marcus was about to cry, he was so upset. Obviously he thought he had just done something horrible.

Wendy only laughed. "It's okay, really. I wasn't even completely sure myself until you just confirmed it for me. Romeo, I'm pregnant." Both Holly and Romeo were frozen. Finally, the young man's face broke out into the biggest smile any of the others had ever seen. He rushed forward and lifted Wendy into the air, spinning her around until she started giggling. When he put her down, he kissed her passionately. Holly and Marcus felt awkward and started to walk away, but Romeo called them back.

"Marcus, how did you know?" Marcus looked a little sheepish, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, she smelled pregnant I guess." His face was very red, but Romeo and Wendy only laughed. "Um, I'm really sorry for surprising you. I shouldn't have said anything."

"Stop with that Marcus! I'm happy you told Romeo. Now we have the extra time to get ready," Wendy said, hugging the boy.

"All the same, I feel like I should do something to make up for it. Do you mind?" Marcus asked, looking at Romeo then Wendy. Both had confused looks on their faces, but they both nodded. Marcus knelt down, and put a hand on Wendy's stomach. "Don't freak out or anything. Ready?" Holly watched as Marcus' hand slowly lit it's golden flames. The fire then spread, surrounding Wendy's entire abdomen. Marcus began to sweat, and closed his eyes, deep in concentration. The flames died down, and Marcus stood back up, wiping the perspiration from his brow.

"Marcus, what was that?" Holly asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Something Ignatius taught me. Phoenix's die and are reborn all the time, so they have a special relationship with life and death. Your child will be strong and healthy. The birth will be easy. Most importantly though, he or she will be very powerful. I gave them a little bit of my power, which will grow and protect them throughout their life." Wendy hugged Marcus, her face only reaching his chest. There were tears in her eyes.

"Thank you Marcus. Thank you so much. This is the most wonderful gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you." Holly could only stare at her boyfriend, stunned by what he had just done. He's truly something else. He makes people so happy. He just makes everything brighter. Mavis help me. I want to spend the rest of my life with him.

After a few more hugs and thank you's, Marcus and Holly managed to sneak out of the guild hall and made it back to their apartment. Marcus lit a fire, and Holly crawled up next to him on the couch. Soon, sleep overtook the girl, and easily drifted off into slumber.


	27. Chapter 27

Ch. 26

Marcus woke up early the next morning, feeling more rested than he think he ever had. Holly had somehow stripped out of her clothes sometime in the night. Again, Marcus felt embarrassment seeing her like that. Before, it hadn't bothered him, but now that they were a couple, it seemed like he was doing something wrong. He decided that the best course of action would be for him to drape a blanket over the girl. No longer distracted by her lack of clothes, Marcus was able to take in her face. Normally the girl had a scowl, but in sleep her expression softened, becoming angel-like in his opinion.

It was then that the hangover hit, a dull thud emanating from Marcus' skull. Not having had a drink in 6 years left his tolerance pretty low, plus he rarely drank heavily enough to get drunk. Last night had been an exception. Marcus had downed cups of liquor like there was no tomorrow in an attempt to relieve some of the nerves he had been having.

Marcus looked towards the kitchen, hoping that there was a glass of water somewhere to quench his parched throat. Instead, he saw the stove, and got an idea. Stumbling over, the pain in his head making it hard to walk, he lit the burner, and watched as blue flames shot out. Bending over, a movement that only made his head hurt worse, Marcus put his mouth close to the fire, then sucked in. The flames weren't exactly delicious, but they seemed to do the trick. As he sucked in more and more of the fire, the pain in his head began to subside, until it was completely gone. Even the twisted feeling in his gut disappeared.

"If I tried that with ice all it would give me is a brain freeze." Marcus turned around, and saw Holly standing up with the blanket wrapped around her. "I'd take brain freeze over hang over any day." She stumbled into the kitchen, standing next to Marcus.

"What are you doing awake? You should get some sleep. It will help with your head. Plus, your ankle is still hurting. Don't even try to deny it. I saw you limping around last night," Marcus scolded her, though it was still playful.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'm going to take a shower, a long hot one. Care to join me?" Holly asked. Marcus was puzzled by her question.

"Sure, if you don't think you can stand with your ankle." Holly looked up at Marcus, like he was some sort of puzzle she was trying to understand.

"You really are something else, aren't you? I think manage. Just make breakfast." The girl walked towards the bathroom, although when she was half way there, the towel dropped from her shoulders, and she made no effort to pick it up. He couldn't be sure, but Marcus could have sworn there was a little more sway in her hips than usual. She's probably still limping, Marcus thought as he pulled out the things he needed to make breakfast.

Sometime later, Marcus had set the table and was laying out plates of pancakes, along with eggs and bacon, Holly's favorite meal. Hearing the shower turn off, Marcus saw Holly exit the bathroom. After a quick exchange of looks, the girl disappeared into her room, only to reemerge thankfully wearing clothes. Sitting down across from him, Holly looked at the food greedily.

"Dammit Marcus. Sometimes I hate you," Holly said, piling her plate high with food.

"Why?"

"You're too damn perfect. You're eyes are too blue, your hair too blonde, your cooking too good," she said, shoving pancakes into her mouth. "Not to mention you're too nice. Plus, you did that thing last night with Wendy! Like seriously man, why is it so hard to hate you?" Marcus didn't know how to respond. He didn't think he was all that special. He didn't see how he was attractive. His cooking was decent, but not amazing. Sure he was powerful, but being nice just kind of came naturally to him.

"Well what about you, ice princess? You could single handedly take out half of Fairy Tail without even having to use magic. You sing like you're in a choir. Your jokes are funny. You're smart, and really pretty." That last one seemed to catch her off guard. Putting down her fork, Holly stood up, and began strutting towards Marcus, a strange look in her eye.

"Marcus Dragneel, let me tell you a thing. All those things you said are true, except for one. I don't do pretty. Pretty is for little girls. I am smokin' hot." With that, she pushed Marcus' chair away from the table. To stunned to do anything, Marcus could only watch as she sat down in his lap, her legs on either side of his waist. She leaned down and kissed his neck, sending shivers down his spine.

"Um, Holly? What are you-" Holly placed a finger on his lips, quieting him.

"Shh. Don't talk. Just relax. I have had a lot of boyfriends Marcus. You, on the other hand, haven't even seen a girl for six years, which means you have a lot to learn. You said I'm smart, so I might as well teach you what I know." Holly leaned her head down, coming closer to his. Marcus was still paralyzed in his chair, his hands hanging down at his sides. Noticing this, Holly brought them up and planted them firmly on her waist. Just as their lips were about to meet, the door to their apartment blew open.

"Ew. Abby, you were right. They're about to get down and dirty," a voice said from somewhere near the door. Marcus looked around Holly, and saw his best friends Abby and Mary looking at the couple. Mary had a mischievous smile on her face, while Abby was trying to cover her eyes.

"Guys, what are you doing here?" Marcus asked, Holly still straddling him.

"We just thought we'd stop by and check up on you. Also, we wanted to ask Holly a question. Tell her Abby."

"Well, um, Holly, would you like to go out on a job with us?" Abby asked, looking down at the floor nervously. Holly made no move to remove herself from the man trapped beneath her, but she did turn her head to look at the sisters.

"Yeah, sure. Sounds like fun. It'll be like a girl's thing. Is that okay Marcus?" Holly asked, looking down at him again. Marcus only nodded, still in shock from the series of events that had just taken place. First, Holly had, well, started seducing him, then there had been a loud noise, and his best friends were now taking his girlfriend away for a few days. I should have stayed in the forest. Life was a lot simpler there, he thought.

"Okay. Pack a bag. We're leaving now. I already told Mira," Mary said. Holly only smile and got up from the chair, freeing Marcus, who was equally relieved and disappointed.

"Give me one sec. I'll be right out."

Holly came out of her room holding a backpack. Marcus was standing with Abby and Mira by the door, waiting. "Well, good luck you guys. Stay safe, and, you know, have fun," Marcus said awkwardly. Something about this whole situation still felt very strange to him, like he was in a dream.

"Don't worry, we will," Mary said before punching Marcus in the shoulder and walking out into the hall."

"By Marcus!" Abby said, giving her friend a hug.

"Be home soon. We'll pick up where we left off, don't worry," Holly whispered in Marcus' ear, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Closing the door when all the girls were gone, Marcus was left alone in his apartment, still struggling to make sense of what had just happened.


	28. Chapter 28

Ch. 27

A few hours after leaving the apartment, Holly and the twins were well on their way towards a nearby town that had requested Fairy Tail's help. A giant Cyclops had been terrorizing the citizens. None of the girls spoke while they walked. When the sun set, they made camp. Laying in their sleeping bags, Holly finally broke the silence.

"So why did you ask me to come with you?" Mary sat up and looked at the ice mage.

"Before we tell you, why don't you guess," she said. Holly thought for a minute.

"I don't know. Neither of you like me. That much is obvious. That rules out a play for friendship. I really hope you're not planning to do anything to Marcus while I'm gone, but that is more unlikely. He's your guys' best friend. I can't think of any other reasons."

"We don't trust you Holly," Mary said. "All those years, you bullied Marcus. You made his life a living hell. You know why he went to the forest the day he disappeared? He had just talked to you, but you humiliated him."

"Mary, stop. Let's just get some sleep," Abby pleaded. Mary didn't listen to her sister.

"Then Marcus comes back, six years later, and you still treat him like crap. I still think it's fishy that you guys ended up in an apartment together. We're not blind Holly. We know that Marcus is a good looking guy. Plus, he's powerful, maybe more powerful than any other wizard. The only reason I can see for you having some sudden change of heart towards our friend is that you're using him." Holly didn't say anything in response. "It's no secret you walk around your apartment naked. You claim it's a habit you picked up from your dad, but we don't think so. Personally, I think you're just using Marcus. Once you get what you want from him, you'll toss him aside like the other guys you've been with. He's such an easy target for you too! He is so in love with you. Everyone could see it, even when he couldn't. He'd do anything you say." Abby was begging her sister to stop talking, tears in her eyes.

"It's not like that," Holly whispered.

"Oh really? Maybe you don't just like him for his body. Maybe it's the money. It won't be long before he's going on the highest paying jobs. He's strong enough to handle them. The money will just be flowing in, and you'll be there holding his heart in one hand and his wallet in the other. He's such a nice guy. Marcus is gentle, caring, loyal to a fault. He's pure, incorruptible. He's the closest thing to perfect there is, and he can't even see it. All he sees is you. You don't deserve him!" Mary yelled. Birds flew from their roosts, startled by the loud noise.

Holly rolled over in her sleeping bag, tears soundlessly rolling down her face. "You're right, I don't." Then she let sleep sweep her away. Once again there was silence in the night.

The next day, Mary and Holly didn't say anything to each other as they got ready to head off towards the town, just a few hours walk away. Abby tried talking to the girls, but neither were in the mood for conversation. Soon, the town was in sight, and so was the Cyclops. Towering over the small buildings, the monster was smashing things with its fists. The single eye in the middle of its giant face was sparkling in joy with the chaos it was causing.

"Well, looks like it's time to work," Mary grumbled. Holly nodded, then set off towards the town. All three girls soon stood in front of the Cyclops. "Hey meat head! Over here!" Mary called. "Why don't you pick on someone a fourth of your size." Wow, this girl either has guts of steel, or she's crazy, Holly thought. The answer came soon enough. "Iron dragon's roar!" A cyclone of metal flew from Mary's mouth, colliding with the Cyclops chest. The monster only laughed.

"Wow, that really tickled," the beast bellowed, his voice echoing across the town. The attack hadn't even scratched him. Holly and Mary both ran towards the monster, throwing attack after attack. Ice and iron swirled together, hacking, slashing, stabbing, pounding at the giant, but none of their attacks seemed to have much effect.

"This guy's got some thick skin," Mary said to Holly, both girls covered in sweat. The formers hand changed from its iron sword form to human skin. "We've got to think of something else, or he'll destroy the rest of the town before long." She was right. The surrounding area was mostly rubble, building smashed to pieces.

"Solid script, chain!" Abby called. While the two other girls had been fighting the Cyclops head on, the soft spoken girl had climbed to the roof of a building, trying to get a better vantage point. Iron letters appeared and formed into chains, with wrapped themselves around the Cyclops.

"Way to go Abby!" Mary called to her sister. The Cyclops tugged at the chains, but they held him.

"Nice trick girly, but I am stronger than these chains. I am the strongest there is!" The Cyclops strained, veins bulging all over his body. His face turned red with the effort, his eye wide open. There was a soft clink, then the chains ripped apart. "See? Nothing can stop me!" The Cyclops swung his fist into the building Abby had been standing on. With two walls missing, the structure couldn't stay up, and began to fall, Abby along with it.

"Abby!" Mary called, rushing towards her sister, Holly hot on her heels. Ripping bricks and lumber from the pile of rubble, thy eventually pulled the unconscious girl out from underneath a large section of wall. "Abby, wake up. Come on, you have to get up!" Mary yelled, her voice filled with desperation. "Come on girl, we can do this. We'll take this bastard out, then go back home. You can read me stories all day, and I won't complain at all. Abby, please!"

Holly couldn't stand watching the scene. She couldn't stand seeing one twin holding the other's body, crying and scared. Instead, she faced the Cyclops, who was laughing again.

"You bastard. I don't care how strong you are. You don't destroy families. That's all we have! When the world seems bleak, and there's nowhere to turn, we always have family. Whether it's our parents, siblings, our guild, our friends, they're always there for us. These people, this town, there are families going through hell because of you."

"Good, that's good. I love watching people suffer!" The Cyclops yelled, pounding his chest.

"Then we'll just have to change that, won't we. Ice make bow!" A large ice bow appeared in Holly's hand, an arrow in the other. "You can't watch suffering when you're blind!" The Cyclops didn't have time to register what was going on until it was too late. Holly launched the arrow, straight into the giant's eye. The monster howled in pain, clawing at his face. Blind, he scrambled around, crashing into building as he ran away. Holly watched as the beast ran out of the town and into the hills, no doubt to lick his wounds in a cave somewhere.

"Mary? What happened?" a soft voice came from behind Holly. Turning around, she saw Abby, slowly looking around. Mary yelped in surprise, then hugged her sister tightly.

"You're okay! Thank Mavis you're okay. Holly saved us, and the town. Thank you Holly, thank you so much." Holly blushed.

"It's okay. That Cyclops was a scum bag. I don't think he'll be coming back any time soon. I doubt he'll even be able to find this place without his eye.

"You blinded the Cyclops?" Abby asked, sitting up. "There was a book I read where somebody did that, saving everybody with him." Holly and Mary laughed at the girl. She had just been knocked unconscious and was still thinking about books.

Later that night, the girls decided to stay in the town after collecting the reward. The people of the town also threw them a party in the only bar that hadn't been destroyed by the Cyclops. Holly and Mary spent the entire night drinking and partying it up. Whenever a guy would start hitting on Abby though, the two would scare him off. Eventually, they decided that it was time to find their rooms and go to sleep. Laying in their beds, Holly could hear celebrations going on all over the small town.

"Hey Holly, you still up?" Mary asked. Abby was softly snoring in her bed.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I'm really sorry about what I said last night." Holly had been dreading this conversation.

"It's okay. I understand. You guys are really protective of Marcus. I just want you to know that I'm not with Marcus for any of the reasons you thought. I can't explain it myself, but I fell in love with him." They were silent for a little bit, Abby still snoring.

"Those things you said today, I didn't know you thought that way. I thought you were cold and heartless," Mary said. Holly laughed.

"Well I am cold, but not heartless. I think Marcus is slowly melting me though. Ironic, isn't it?" Mary chuckled a bit.

"No, it makes sense. He just makes everything brighter and warmer. Mavis help him though, he's so stupid sometimes. Lucky for him he could get by on good looks alone if he had too. Those six years living in a forest left him completely socially inept."

"I know right!" The girls were now doubled over in laughter. They spent most of the night laughing about Marcus and the trouble that seemed to follow him. As they were talking, Holly slowly felt herself relax. Maybe I am melting. Look at me, I'm making friends. Damn Marcus, changing me for the better, she.

Meanwhile at Fairy Tail, Marcus was sitting at the bar with a middle aged Laxus. The two blondes were sitting in silence drinking. Nobody sat near them though. The combined power radiating off the two mages had people sweating nervously all over the guild. Only Mira seemed unfazed, humming happily to herself while she washed glasses with a cloth.

Suddenly, Marcus shuddered. It felt as though somebody was laughing at him.

"You okay kid?" Laxus asked, setting down his mug.

"Yeah. Just a little nervous about the girls. They went off on a job together."

"Eh. They'll be alright."

"Okay." Marcus and Laxus went back to sitting in silence, calming sipping their drinks. Eventually, Laxus got up from his chair.

"Good talk kid." A lot of people in the guild let out a sigh of relief when Laxus left. To them, it felt as though a nuclear bomb had just been diffused and all that was left was a slightly smaller bomb.


	29. Chapter 29

Ch. 29

Marcus was waiting at the guild for the girls to come back, pacing nervously.

"Why are you so worried Marcus? I'm sure the girls are fine," Marcus' uncle, Happy said. The cat was nibbling on a fish contently.

"I don't know uncle. I don't know how well they got along though. Holly and Mary can both be really stubborn. I'm afraid that they might have killed each other before they even made it to the job, which they told me nothing about!" Marcus began pacing faster. A few minutes later, the doors of the guild hall opened. Holly and Mary came striding in, arm and arm, Abby right behind them.

"The heroes are back! We saved the day. You can all bow down now," Holly declared. Marcus laughed as he ran over to his friends.

"So you guys did okay? No problems?" The girls all looked at each other before laughing, like they had some inside joke no one else knew about.

"We were just fine Marcus. Let me tell you, you are one lucky guy. Take care of this girl," Mary said, before dragging her sister to the bar, leaving Marcus, Holly, and Happy alone near the door.

"What was all that about?"

"Oh nothing. I think we're going to become very good friends. And she was right blue eyes, you are lucky," Holly said, batting her eyes at Marcus, causing him to blush a bit.

"He liiiiiiiiiiiikes her!"

"Shut-" Marcus began, but stopped himself. "You're right, I do." Then Marcus pulled the ice mage into a tight hug. He heard a few people around the guild snickering or making jokes, but Marcus didn't care.

"I know it's still early, but I think we should head home Marcus," Holly said.

"Why? I'm sure people will want to hear about your job."

"Let Mary and Abby tell them. Remember what I said right before I left?" Marcus tried to remember.

"Something about finishing up where we- ohhhhhhhhhhh. Yeah, I- I do. Why?" His face was bright red, and growing redder as he stared down at Holly, her green eyes sparkling mischievously. Instead of answering, Holly grabbed Marcus by the sleeve of his jacket and pulled him out of the guild, towards their apartment.

Reaching the building, Holly pulled Marcus up the stairs to their place so fast he almost tripped. Opening the front door, she pushed him in. Falling back onto the couch, Marcus didn't have much time to react. The girl jumped on top of him, her body crashing into his. She then began kissing him furiously, and Marcus could only reciprocate with just as much passion. Not having much experience, he was forced to rely mostly on his instincts. Holly tugged off his jacket, and broke the kiss, pulling his t shirt over his head. Marcus blushed at the girl's forwardness. Sure she had seen him shirtless countless times, but it seemed different to him now.

Marcus tried lifting himself up to kiss the girl on top of him again, but Holly pushed him down, shaking her head.

"Have a little patience blue eyes." Holly reached her hands down, towards the hem of her shirt. Marcus didn't know what to do. He had never been in any situation like this before. Ignatius had taught him a lot of things: magic, fighting, surviving, languages, history, even a few jokes. The phoenix had never once taught Marcus anything about this. Just as Holly was pulling her shirt past her midriff, a cough came from somewhere behind Marcus. Holly looked up and her eyes widened, her shirt dropping back into its place. Looking back, Marcus saw a man crouching on his window sill, the glass frames wide open. The man had blue hair, a red tattoo under one eye, and was wearing a long blue coat. Marcus had heard stories about this man, but never expected to see him in person.

"Jellal."

"Marcus, I'm sorry to interrupt, but what I have to say is urgent," Jellal said, his face slightly blushed.

"So urgent you couldn't use a door?" Holly grumbled.

"If I had knocked, would you have answered, Holly Fullbuster?" Jellal asked, turning his eyes away from the couple. Instead of answering, Holly removed herself from Marcus and trudged into the kitchen, still grumbling. Marcus could have sworn he heard the word 'block', and something about a chicken. Not knowing what she was talking about, Marcus turned back to the man who had broken into his home.

"I'm sorry. She's had a long day. What can I help you with?" Marcus asked. Jellal chuckled.

"A strange man breaks into your apartment and the first thing you ask him is if you can help him. Erza was right about you."

"Erza?" Marcus asked. Although he knew it was a bad topic to talk about at Fairy Tail, he knew about Erza and Jellal's relationship, or lack of one. Even as the years went on, the man refused to let himself be with Erza, insistent that she deserved someone better than him. The reason nobody talked about it was because it would either end up with Erza crying or breaking something, most likely the person who brought up the topic.

"She sent me a letter when you disappeared, then again when you returned. She wanted me to look into the phoenix's. At first I was skeptical, but I did it anyways because-"

"Because it's Erza," Marcus finished.

"Yes. Because it's Erza. Anyways, I think I found your teacher, Ignatius, and from what I can tell, he's in trouble."


	30. Chapter 30

Ch. 30

Marcus stared at the blue haired man. There's no way he could be telling the truth, but from what Marcus knew about Jellal, trouble always seemed to follow him.

"What do you mean Ignatius is in trouble?" Marcus asked. Jellal looked at him for a minute.

"I think we both know what I mean. I know all about that secret clearing in the forest. Ignatius would not have been there if he hadn't been in danger. Whoever was after him must have caught up with him." Jellal stepped into the apartment, looking around. "You have a beautiful home."

"Thanks. Now if you could explain why you so rudely interrupted us, I'd really appreciate it," Holly said, still standing in the kitchen.

"Jellal, stop torturing the poor kids." Looking back at the window, Marcus saw two women standing where Jellal had come in. One had black hair, and the other pink. The same as Jellal, Marcus knew who these women were, Meredy and Ultear. "Sorry that we had to interrupt you. Hon, don't bother putting on a shirt," the woman with pink hair, Meredy said. Ignoring her, Marcus picked up his jacket and shirt, slipping them on.

"Marcus, as I'm sure Jellal told you, Ignatius is in trouble. Did he tell you anything about why he was a fugitive?" Ultear asked.

"No. He didn't tell me much. All I know is that someone, something, was after him." Holly stood next to Marcus now. The girl with pink hair kept eyeing Marcus, and she didn't like that.

"Marcus, we think that another phoenix was after Ignatius, however we don't know why. You don't have any ideas?" Jellal asked. Marcus shook his head. "Okay. Then I guess we have all the information we need. Thank you." Jellal turned towards the window, but Holly stopped him.

"Woah there buddy. You can't just show up, interrupt us while we were-" Holly paused. Meredy started giggling. "You can't just show up, tell us that Marcus' teacher and friend is in trouble, and then leave without us. We're going, right Marcus?" He nodded, taking her hand in his. Jellal looked at his companions, then started laughing. It was a hearty, deep laugh. From the surprised looks on Meredy and Ultear's faces, Marcus assumed that Jellal didn't laugh very often.

"Oh, you'll have to forgive me. You remind me so much of your parents. I'm sorry, I completely forgot. Marcus, I need your help rescuing Ignatius. You're the only one powerful enough to take on a phoenix. And of course, Holly, we would love to bring you along." Marcus was stunned. How could this man forget something so important? Regardless, the tightening grip on his hand told him that Holly was getting excited.

"We're in. Where is he?"

"North. In the ancient lands," Jellal said. Marcus sat down on the couch, considering the options. From the stories Ignatius had told him, he knew that the ancient lands were dangerous. Filled with monsters, it was a barren wasteland, where the weather can change from a sweltering desert to a frozen tundra in hours. The phoenixes had inhabited those lands when the world was their domain, but then they had declined, their power giving way to that of dragons.

Holly sat down next to Marcus. "If you don't think we can do this, we'll find some other way. I'm sure the Magic Counsel-"

"No," Marcus cut Holly off. "This is my fight. Ignatius is my teacher, my friend. He's family. Besides, Jellal is right. I'm the only person who can defeat a creature like the phoenix." Meredy and Ultear stepped towards the window. They must have been anxious to leave. Jellal stood next to them. "Wait for us out front. Just need to grab a few things before we go," Marcus said. The trio of older wizards exited the way they came in, leaving Marcus and Holly alone.

"Okay, I'll go grab a bag." Holly turned towards her room, but Marcus grabbed her.

"Don't come," he said. Holly was speechless. "Please don't come. The ancient lands, they're unlike anything you've ever seen. If something were to happen to you-" Marcus didn't even finish his sentence. Just thinking about it was almost too much for him.

"Marcus, I can take care of myself. Just because we're together now doesn't mean you can coddle me," Holly said. She wouldn't let him try to lock her in just because something was dangerous.

"It's not because of that. I wouldn't want anyone to come with me on this journey. Not my dad, not my friends, not even Laxus. That's how powerful a phoenix is. You heard the stories about when the dragons attack. Now imagine the damage being 10 times worse. That is only a small fraction of a single phoenix's power. They are pure elemental destruction. I even know if I'll be able to stop this one." Marcus had never seen Ignatius demonstrate such power, but from the old stories, and even just feeling the power that radiated off his teacher told Marcus he was right.

"You are trained to fight these things, Marcus. Do you know what that means? You're going to kick this bird brains face in, and I'm going to be there to watch it, cheering you on the whole time," Holly said. "I know that I can't take on a phoenix, but I can help you reach it. When the time comes, you'll have to face it, but until then I can, and I will support you. Got it? Now stop being an idiot and start backing." Holly didn't let Marcus make a counter argument. Instead, she turned to her room, and started walking.

Watching her go, Marcus decided that it was useless. Holly was as stubborn as a mule. I guess I'll just have to be stronger, for her, Marcus thought as he walked towards him room to pack.


End file.
